Jun 06 (NHK) - Yokota Shigeru, the father of a woman who was abducted by North Korea, died on Friday. He was 87 years old. He spent more than four decades trying to get his daughter back, but was unable to meet her again.
Yokota's daughter Megumi was abducted in 1977 when she was in junior high school.
When a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea was founded in 1997, he became the leader.
He and his wife Sakie travelled across Japan to rally support for the group's cause, conducting petition campaigns and giving more than 1,400 speeches.
Yokota stepped down as group leader a decade later due to an illness, but he continued calling for public support to bring the abductees back.
Megumi was found to have got married and had a daughter in North Korea. The Yokotas met their granddaughter, Kim Eun Gyong, in Mongolia in 2014. But their daughter was not there.
Efforts to resolve the abduction issue made little progress. Yokota stopped giving speeches four years ago due to poor health.
One of his cherished possessions was a comb Megumi gave him as a birthday gift the day before she disappeared.
Yokota had been in hospital in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, for more than two years.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo spoke shortly after Yokota's death was announced.
He said, "I was waiting for the day when Yokota Shigeru and his wife could hold their daughter Megumi in their arms. I did my best as a Prime Minister, but I could not make that happen. I feel so sorry from bottom of my heart."
The current representative of the abductees' families says Yokota's death should be a wake-up call.
Iizuka Shigeo said, "We knew this was coming. Either you did not notice... or did not do anything even though you knew. This is the result of spending years doing nothing."
Iizuka says if the issue is left unresolved for much longer, only a few parents will alive to see their loved ones returned.
