Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday he wants to establish senior-level negotiations between Japan and North Korea in a bid to arrange a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an early date on the return of Japanese abductees.
In his remarks to a rally in Tokyo seeking the return of Japanese nationals abducted by the North in the 1970s and 1980s, Kishida reiterated that he is committed to realizing unconditional talks with Kim "at the earliest opportunity."
Takuya Yokota, who heads a group of Japanese abductee families, called for the early return of his older sister, Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea decades ago at the age of 13, and other Japanese abductees.