Teruaki Masumoto, whose sister was abducted by North Korea, failed to secure a seat in Sunday's election after running on the ticket of tiny opposition group Jisedai no To (Party for Future Generations).
Masumoto, 59, failed to win in both the single-seat No. 2 constituency in Miyagi Prefecture and in Tohoku's proportional representation bloc.
He previously served as secretary-general of a group of relatives of North Korea abduction victims, and during his campaign he had stressed the need to settle the long-stalled issue. But the group maintained its nonpartisan position and distanced itself from Masumoto.
Masumoto's elder sister, Rumiko, went missing at age 24 in 1978, together with Shuichi Ichikawa, 23.
