OBAMA, Fukui Prefecture (Kyodo) Yasushi Chimura and his wife, Fukie, abducted by North Korea in 1978 but repatriated in 2002, expressed relief Friday that their children are adapting smoothly to Japanese life as they marked the fifth anniversary of their arrival in Japan.
“We are relieved that our children have been adapting to the social environment well and that they are growing up smoothly. At the same time, we would like to continue efforts to stand on our own,” the couple, who returned to Japan without their three North Korean-born children, said in a statement issued through the city government of Obama in Fukui Prefecture where they live.
The couple also renewed calls for the Japanese government to bring about the return of other abductees still believed to be residing in North Korea and fully resolve the issue.
Their daughter, Emi, 27, works at a local credit association and their son, Yasuhiko, 25, graduated from the University of Fukui last year. Youngest son Kiyoshi, 21, is a junior majoring in Korean at Osaka University’s School of Foreign Studies.
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