With North Korea's report approaching on its second probe into the fate of the Japanese it abducted, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday vowed in front of their families that his administration is committed to bringing them home.
"Our mission won't be completed until the day comes when the families can embrace their (abducted) relatives in their arms," Abe said at a conference on the issue at Hibiya Public Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
Before an audience of around 1,800 people, including some of the families, Abe repeated that solving the decades-old abductees issue is one of the highest priorities of his administration and said that public opinion will boost Japan's negotiating power with the reclusive North.