The National Police Agency said Friday it will have prefectural police forces start publishing online the names, pictures and other data about people possibly abducted by North Korea to solicit information from a wide range of sources, after obtaining consent from their relatives.
The NPA said there were 864 such people as of the end of May, and about half haven't been seen for more than 30 years.
Information about the first 169 people started appearing on the websites of police whose jurisdiction includes their homes or the locations where they were last seen.
It will be followed by information on 124 others. The agency said the relatives of 263 people have refused permission and will ask the families of the remaining 308 people about whether they want the information to be made public.
The move came after the NPA revealed in December the total missing persons cases under probe in reply to a request from a Tokushima Prefecture group that supports abduction victims.