The relatives of the Japanese abducted by North Korean agents decades ago are again calling publicly for the government to bring them back, holding onto hope even in the face of growing provocations from a stubborn communist country making ever faster progress on developing nuclear weapons.

The group of abductees' families is headed by Shigeo Iizuka, whose younger sister, Yaeko Taguchi, was kidnapped in 1978 at age 22. Iizuka said at a gathering in Tokyo on Friday ahead of the group's 20th anniversary Saturday that it hopes to see all of the victims return "this year."

The group, which comprises eight families including the elderly parents of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted 40 years ago at age 13, has worked tirelessly to keep the public aware of the issue since its founding on March 25, 1997.