Three of the four candidates vying to be Japan's next prime minister are saying that summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are necessary to resolve the long-standing issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.
Former foreign ministers Taro Kono and Fumio Kishida as well as former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi expressed the view in a forum held Monday, while former gender equality minister Seiko Noda stressed the need for the government to strengthen its intelligence-gathering capability.
Kono and Kishida, seen in media polls as leading contenders in the Sept. 29 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, said Japan will cooperate with the United States and other countries to break the impasse over the issue.