Hitomi Soga, who was abducted to North Korea in 1978 and is now back home here, asked two senior government officials Wednesday to endeavor to get her American husband and two daughters out of the secretive state so they can reunite in Japan.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said he and Cabinet Secretariat special adviser Kyoko Nakayama were urged by Soga, 43, to make every effort to achieve this as soon as possible.

Abe told reporters after meeting Soga at her family home in Mano on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, that he assured her the government will consult with prefectural and municipal authorities to support her.