A group of governors seeking the return of Japanese abducted by North Korea called the U.S. delisting of Pyongyang from its terrorism blacklist "incoherent" and urged President-elect Barack Obama to take prompt action on the matter.
The Assembled Governors for the Return of Victims of Abduction by North Korea, which was formed in November and is chaired by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, requested during a news conference in Tokyo that the next U.S. president address the issue sincerely.
"Lack of devotion and concern (by the U.S.) on the issue has become a barrier" to resolving the abduction issue, Ishihara told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.