Calling for Justice and Accountability for Japanese Citizens Abducted By North Korea

Floor Speech

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, for over forty-six years, Sakie Yokota has waited for the return of her daughter, Megumi Yokota, who, at 13 years old, was kidnapped while coming home from school.

For over forty-three years, Shigeo Iizuka waited for the return of his sister, Yaeko Taguchi, who vanished after dropping off her one- and two-year-old children at daycare. Yaeko's children never had the chance to grow up with her.

These heart-wrenching stories are not isolated cases of the past but are part of a decades-long tragedy that continues to haunt families across Japan.

Today, I rise to address the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s and call for resolution and closure for affected families. The Government of Japan has officially recognized 17 missing people as victims of North Korean abductions. Many of these victims were in their twenties at the time of their disappearance. While North Korea admitted to these abductions and released five victims in the early 2000s, the fates of the remaining 12 abductees remain a mystery. The North Korean regime continues to obscure the truth and deny closure to grieving families.

Since 2002, Japan has engaged in numerous dialogues, negotiations, and diplomatic efforts to uncover the fates of the remaining abductees. North Korea claims that eight victims died while four never entered the territory. The regime has provided purported death certificates for the eight deceased victims, who were in their 20s and 30s, citing causes of death like heart attacks, traffic accidents, gas poisoning, and suicide. However, Japanese investigations have revealed glaring contradictions and errors in North Korea's reports. The regime's lack of transparency and inability to provide concrete, objective evidence to corroborate such unnatural causes of death have raised questions regarding the fate of these abductees. Even DNA testing on alleged remains has failed to match the identities of the victims. North Korea continues to argue that they have provided all necessary information and that there is nothing further to discuss.

As the decades passed, many relatives of the abductees like Shigeo Iizuka have passed away without ever knowing the fate of their loved ones. The longer this issue remains unresolved, the greater the anguish of the families involved and the risk that the truth will not be uncovered within their lifetime. It is unacceptable that these families have been deprived of justice for so long.

But this tragedy extends beyond Japan. International abductions ate a serious human rights violation. The United Nations has documented cases where North Korea abducted citizens from various countries including South Korea, China, Thailand, Romania, and more.

The United States must stand with its ally Japan and demand justice and accountability from North Korea. Nearly 50 years of uncertainty and grief needs to come to an end. We cannot allow these violations of Japan's sovereignty and international human rights to go unaddressed. We must continue to pressure North Korea to disclose the truth about these abductees and to immediately release all who are still held captive.

The families of the victims deserve closure and the truth. It is our moral obligation to hold North Korea's brutal regime accountable for these abductions, bring these abductees home, and ensure every family affected finds peace at long last.

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