A Japanese woman who had been in Chinese custody for two weeks after fleeing North Korea in November arrived in Japan shortly before noon Wednesday, her first time home in 44 years.
The 64-year-old woman, accompanied by Foreign Ministry personnel, was released by Chinese authorities earlier in the day and took a China Northern Airlines flight from Shenyang, Liaoning Province, to Kansai International Airport.
She then boarded an All Nippon Airways flight to Tokyo's Haneda airport and arrived in the capital shortly before 3 p.m. Her name is being withheld at her request.