Yokota family

Yokota family
BornShigeru Yokota
(1932-11-14)November 14, 1932
Sakie Yokota
(1936-02-04) February 4, 1936 (age 88)
DiedShigeru Yokota
June 5, 2020(2020-06-05) (aged 87)
OccupationHuman rights activists
Known forFounders of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea

The Yokota family, husband Shigeru (November 14, 1932 – June 5, 2020) and wife Sakie (born February 4, 1936) along with their twin sons Takuya and Tetsuya founded the Japanese National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea in 1997. The Association supports the victims of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Yokotas' daughter Megumi was kidnapped in 1977 by North Korean spies; her current whereabouts are unknown.

Sakie Yokota once met with U.S. President George W. Bush to talk about demanding sanctions on North Korea and in 2013 she testified about her daughter's abduction.[1]

In 2014, the Yokotas met Megumi's Korean daughter.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Also in 2014, Sakie Yokota met U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the case of her daughter and other abductees. The meeting came after a press conference Obama held with then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. During the meeting, Obama said he was "moved by their tragic experiences."[1]

On September 19, 2017, President of the United States Donald Trump, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, included Yokota in a series of accusations against the North Korean government, saying, "We know it kidnapped a sweet 13-year-old Japanese girl from a beach in her own country to enslave her as a language tutor for North Korea's spies."[11]

On June 5, 2020, Shigeru Yokota died at age 87. He had been hospitalized in Kawasaki for more than two years. [12][13] On October 24, 2020, former Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attended a memorial service for Shigeru, where Suga praised him and said he would "take the lead in making a breakthrough (on the abductees issue), without missing any opportunity."[14][15]

Sakie Yokota wrote a book, North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter, about the issue.[16]

  1. ^ a b Eilperin, Juliet (24 April 2014). "Obama meets with relatives of Japanese abducted by North Korea". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Opinion | Signals From North Korea". April 11, 2014 – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ "North Korea abductee meeting praised". March 17, 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Yokotas still hopeful for reunion on 50th birthday of abducted daughter - AJW by the Asahi Shimbun". Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. ^ McKirdy, Euan. "Abductee's parents finally meet North Korean granddaughter". CNN.
  6. ^ "Elderly Japanese couple meet family of daughter kidnapped by N Korea".
  7. ^ "INSIGHT: Meeting with abductee's daughter could propel Tokyo-Pyongyang talks - AJW by the Asahi Shimbun". Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "North Korean daughter of Japanese abductee could visit Japan this year". July 1, 2014 – via www.reuters.com.
  9. ^ Fackler, Martin (March 16, 2014). "Years After Abduction by North Korea, a Reunion" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "Japanese mother tells of heartbreak years after North Korea abducted 13-year-old daughter". August 29, 2013 – via www.reuters.com.
  11. ^ "Trump vows to bring Japanese abductee Yokota home from North Korea". Kyodo News. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Yokota Shigeru, father of abductee, dies at 87". NHK WORLD.
  13. ^ "Shigeru Yokota, father of North Korea abductee Megumi, dead at 87". The Japan Times. June 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Memorial held for Shigeru Yokota, father of N. Korea abductee Megumi". The Mainichi. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Suga attends memorial for father of North Korea abductee". The Japan Times. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  16. ^ Dym, Jeffrey A. (2014). "Review of North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter". North Korean Review. 10 (2): 99–101. ISSN 1551-2789.