The death last week of Shigeru Yokota, whose daughter Megumi was kidnapped by North Korea in 1977 at the age of 13, has returned the spotlight to the issue of Japanese people believed to have been abducted by Pyongyang in the 1960s through the 1980s.
While Megumi’s plight would gain worldwide recognition, the Japanese government officially claims 17 Japanese nationals were abducted, but adds that there could be more than 800 others.
The issue has a complicated history and looks no closer to being solved today.