The younger brother of Megumi Yokota, a symbolic figure of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago, on Saturday took the helm of a group representing families of the victims.
"I will continue to raise my voice toward resolving the abduction issue," Takuya Yokota, 53, said at an international symposium in Tokyo, as making progress on the issue has become more pressing over the years with the aging of the abductees' relatives.
Yokota, who had served as secretary general of the group, replaced 83-year-old Shigeo Iizuka, the older brother of Yaeko Taguchi. Iizuka has been in poor health in recent years and, according to his son, is currently hospitalized.