Japan denies report that abductee Yokota died of overdose in 1994

The central government on Friday denied a report out of South Korea claiming that Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea at the age of 13 and remains a symbol of the four-decade campaign to recover kidnapping victims, died in 1994 of an overdose.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said there was "absolutely no credibility" to a report in the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper about Megumi Yokota's death at a North Korean psychiatric hospital 20 years ago. The paper cited a report by South Korean activist Choi Sung-yong and Japanese investigators.

"I wanted to let the world know that Megumi died a tragic death," Choi, who represents an association of South Koreans whose family members were kidnapped by North Korea, said in a telephone interview. "It's unacceptable how they let her die."