TSU, Mie Pref. -- Family and friends of a female reporter who has been missing for nearly a year called on citizens of Ise Tuesday to come forward with any information regarding her disappearance.
Noriko Tsujide, 25, left work at around 11 p.m. on Nov. 24, 1998, but never came home, police said. They are publicizing the investigation because they suspect she was the victim of foul play.
On Tuesday, fliers bearing Tsujide's photograph were handed to passersby at a local shopping center, and roughly 80 police investigators searched the vicinity of the publishing company where she worked, including a nearby wooded area and a lake. Her employer was not identified.
Although Mie Prefectural Police have questioned some 700 people, they said they have not obtained any solid leads or eyewitness information.
Tsujide's family reported her missing after her car was found on the morning of Nov. 25, 1998, in a parking lot about 1 km from her workplace.
Tsujide's father, Yasuharu, 52, said his family has searched for her every holiday since she disappeared, but to no avail.
"I believe Noriko is still alive. I want any kind of information I can get," he said.
Fliers will be distributed again today.