{"id":4058,"date":"2019-02-08T15:40:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T06:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4058"},"modified":"2019-02-14T15:55:39","modified_gmt":"2019-02-14T06:55:39","slug":"abduction-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/02\/recommendations\/abduction-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"With time running out for the aging families of Japanese abductees, the Abe administration must lay out a roadmap for settlement talks with North Korea (ISHIMARU Jiro)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Picture) Ms. Arimoto was kidnapped at the age of 23 when she was studying in London (Photograph provided by her family)<\/p><\/div>\n

January 12 marked the 59th birthday of Keiko Arimoto (\u6709\u672c\u6075\u5b50), a Japanese citizen who has spent most of her life as a captive of North Korea. Abducted and brought to North Korea when she was just 23, Ms. Arimoto was forced to teach her language and customs to generations of North Korean spies, as her own government failed for decades to negotiate her release. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am saddened each January when I reminded of Ms. Arimoto's birthday. I think of how close our ages are and how we are both from the Kansai region of Japan. I imagine her parents, at similar age to my own, and the incredible sadness they must feel as they face the fact that they are running out of time to be reunited with their daughter. The lack of progress in bringing her back is especially frustrating. Since the return of Hitomi Soga (\u66fd\u6211\u3072\u3068\u307f) and her family in July 2004, no administration has made further progress in resolving the abduction issue. <\/span><\/p>\n

If Japan had made better political and diplomatic choices, could more progress have been made? Would balanced reporting by the media have helped avoid the current stalemate? No one can be certain.<\/p>\n

After Kim Jong-il acknowledged the abduction of Japanese citizens in September 2002, with the admission that \"eight [Japanese] people died and four did not enter the country\", public sentiment in Japan urged for retaliation and punishment to be carried out against North Korea. Expressions such as 'pay back' and 'strangle North Korea' filled the headlines. Those who, instead, argued for consultations on the issue to be prioritized were referred to as \"betrayers of the country\" or \"North Korean bootlickers\u201d.<\/p>\n

There were numerous politicians who made similarly inflammatory remarks. Shingo Nishimura (\u897f\u6751\u771e\u609f), a former member of the House of Representatives, and Ishihara Shintaro (<\/span>\u77f3\u539f\u614e\u592a\u90ce), the former Governor of Tokyo, made the irresponsible claim that, \u201cIf Japan were to implement economic sanctions, North Korea would collapse and the abduction issue would be resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next page: The danger of emotional diplomacy\u2026 <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6The danger of emotional diplomacy<\/h2>\n

It was in 2004 that Japan established a legal basis for sanctions against North Korea. At the time, trade with Japan only represented about 10% of North Korea\u2019s overall total. With this in mind, I argued that it was impossible to change North Korea's policy through economic sanctions and shared my belief that economic sanctions would be met with backlash from the Kim Jong-il regime, which would only hinder progress on the abduction issue. There were many who disagreed with me, however. While at a protest against the abductions, I was told by other participants that, \u201cThe victims\u2019 families are angered by your remarks,\u201d and was asked, \u201cAre you siding with North Korea?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Firm statements of the victims\u2019 families, calling for \"resolution through pressure,\" were constantly reported in the media. Sadness and anger were, of course, natural responses to the abduction of a loved one, however, the family members were not experts in international politics. It was politicians who would be ultimately responsible for formulating a policy with the best chance of bringing the victims home.<\/p>\n

While it is, of course, North Korea that is at fault for repeatedly giving insincere responses and insisting to Japan that \u201cthe abduction issue has been resolved\u201d, the Japanese government cannot be excused for getting caught up in the \u2018national sentiment\u2019 of demanding pressure on North Korea instead of exploring the possibility of consultations. Emotions can quickly change. But it is not quite as easy to make changes to or withdraw from policies that have already been implemented. The reality of the situation for abductees could not have been improved through anger alone.<\/p>\n

Last year, President Moon Jae-in and President Trump delivered a message from the Japanese government directly to Kim Jong-un, requesting a resolution of the abduction issue. Moreover, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe publicly mentioned many times that he would like to meet with Kim Jong-un. If a meeting is to happen, however, the Japanese government must first set a roadmap for consultations on the issues of abductions. In addition, an agenda for the talks must include settlements on: colonial rule, nuclear weapons and missiles, Japanese nationals remaining in North Korea (including the Japanese wives of North Korean men), and the return of Japanese remains.<\/p>\n

Ms. Arimoto's mother, Kayoko, is 93 and her father, Akihiro, is 90. They, along with family members of the other 12 abductees, have been waiting for the return of their children for decades. With the parents of victims in their twilight years and, with many already having passed away, wasting time is no longer acceptable.<\/p>\n

\u203bThis is an edited version of an article published in the January 22, 2019 issue of the Osaka Mainichi Newspaper.<\/p>\n

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