Japan's newly appointed minister in charge of the abduction issue says the government will arrange a meeting on Friday with families of the victims, in response to their request for a direct explanation about the status of negotiations with North Korea.
"I assume they have various questions and requests, and I want them not to hesitate to bring them to the Foreign Ministry. And I want the Foreign Ministry to listen sincerely to them, and lead the negotiation to a successful conclusion," Eriko Yamatani said in a group interview at her Tokyo office on Wednesday, which marked the 12th anniversary of Pyongyang's admission to the kidnappings.
Pyongyang is expected to report soon on its promised investigation into the fate of Japanese its agents abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. But Yamatani said the government has not received any concrete information on the release date, or how the content would be delivered.