Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Wednesday assured relatives of Japanese abducted to North Korea that the government will continue trying to resolve the issue in collaboration with the United States, the head of the group said.
Stressing that the Democratic Party of Japan will maintain the policy of comprehensively resolving the issue as well as Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, Okada was quoted as saying, "Japan and the United States are acting in concert on dealing with such issues."
Shigeo Iizuka, the leader of the relatives' group and brother of abductee Yaeko Taguchi, said he told Okada that the government should seek cooperation from China and the U.S. to pressure North Korea to swiftly resolve the abductions.
The meeting came as ties between Japan and the United States are becoming strained over the feud involving the Futenma military airfield.