Overview
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan has formally requested a meeting with Kim Jong Un to pursue concrete progress on the abductions issue.
- Government sources say the request was conveyed immediately after Takaichi took office on Oct. 21 and that no response has been received.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan is approaching North Korea through various channels but declined to detail Pyongyang’s reaction.
- Japan officially recognizes 17 abductees from the 1970s–80s, five of whom returned in 2002 after Koizumi’s talks with Kim Jong Il, and there has been no leader-level summit since 2004.
- North Korea disputes Japan’s account and claims the matter is settled, and prospects for talks remain uncertain following Kim Yo Jong’s 2024 rejection of further contact; Takaichi has sought backing from President Donald Trump and consulted China’s Xi Jinping.