Fifteen women who have returned to Japan for the first time since emigrating to North Korea with their Korean husbands spent a second day in their hometowns on Tuesday, reminiscing with family and old friends.
Some of the women traveled across the country to catch up with as many relatives and friends as possible before their scheduled departure Friday. Because some of them moved to North Korea against the wishes of their families and because of deep-rooted discrimination in Japanese society against Koreans, some relatives have refused to meet the women.
Kim Chong Mi, 62, whose Japanese name is Toyoko Uda, visited her parents' graves in Iiyama, Nagano Prefecture, and took a walk around where her home used to be. Yun Mun Suk, 65, whose Japanese name is Fumi Ito, returned from a visit to her hometown on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, and met with her sisters at her relatives' home in Saitama Prefecture. Sing Suk Yong, 59, whose Japanese name is Fusako Aoyama, spent Monday night with her 56-year-old brother at an Osaka hotel and on Tuesday visited her parents' graves in her hometown of Komatsujima, Tokushima Prefecture.