Overview
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan has already conveyed to Pyongyang a request for a leaders’ meeting, and North Korea has not publicly responded.
- Takaichi pledged to achieve a breakthrough during her tenure, calling the abductee issue her cabinet’s top priority and vowing to use any means necessary.
- Japan maintains that at least 17 citizens were seized by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, with five returned in 2002 after Junichiro Koizumi’s visits, and no further repatriations since.
- Pyongyang disputes Tokyo’s tally, says several victims died and considers the matter settled, a stance that has long stalled negotiations.
- Takaichi has met abductees’ families twice since taking office, including alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during his Japan visit, and she says she will work closely with allies.