Abductions of Japanese Citizens by North Korea
Abductions of Japanese Citizens by North Korea
www.rachi.go.jp
Headquarters for the Abduction Issue, Government of Japan
Top page > Abduction of Japanese Citizens by North Korea > Cases in Which Abduction by North Korea Cannot be Ruled Out
In addition to the Japanese citizens already identified as having been abducted by North Korean authorities in accordance with Article 2 of the Law Regarding Support for Abductees and Others Affected by Abductions by North Korean Authorities (abbreviated below as the Support Law ), the GoJ is also aware of the fact that abduction by North Korea cannot be ruled out in other missing persons cases. The Government is working on all fronts to gain a full accounting of these unresolved cases. The relevant ministries and government bodies are collaborating closely on information gathering, investigations and inquiries both in Japan and overseas. When an investigation reveals that a case involves abduction by North Korean authorities, the GoJ will promptly add the missing person to the list of abductees as stipulated in the Support Law.
Further investigation and inquiries in cases in which the possibility of abduction by North Korea cannot be ruled out is also one of the six top-priority policy items listed in the Policy on the Abduction Issue adopted at the first meeting of the Headquarters for the Abduction Issue.
The GoJ has repeatedly demanded that North Korea guarantee the safety of all abductees, not only those who have already been officially acknowledged as such, and allow all of these individuals to immediately return to Japan.
The Government has repeatedly demanded that North Korea provide information related to missing persons cases in which abduction by North Korea cannot be ruled out. The GoJ has handed over information concerning more than 30 such persons, and has pressed North Korea to start investigating these cases. The GoJ has also repeatedly petitioned North Korea to provide all additional information it has on abductions of Japanese citizens, regardless of whether a specific case has been specifically mentioned in the Government’s requests.
Terminology: Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea
The term "missing Japanese probably related to North Korea" is used by the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea (COMJAN),a private citizens group, to refer to missing person cases under independent investigation by the commission in response to requests from families who believe missing family members could have been abducted by North Korea. Cases in which investigations by this commission find a high likelihood of abduction are referred to by COMJAN as "No. 1000 cases."
The GoJ does not use this terminology since the cases investigated by Japanese ministries and other government bodies are not limited to "missing Japanese probably related to North Korea."missing persons cases in which the possibility of abduction by North Korea cannot be ruled out."
