Yokota family

The Yokota family's public history is inseparable from the disappearance of Megumi Yokota. On November 15, 1977, 13-year-old Megumi vanished while returning from school in Niigata, Japan. For years, her family had no confirmed explanation for what had happened. Later investigations into North Korea's covert operations established that Japanese citizens had been abducted during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Megumi's case became one of the best-known examples of this campaign. Her parents, Shigeru and Sakie Yokota, responded by becoming public advocates for the abductees and their relatives. The family worked to keep the case visible in Japanese public life, met politicians and foreign officials, and urged governments to demand reliable information from North Korea. In 1997, Shigeru and Sakie, together with their twin sons Takuya and Tetsuya, helped found the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea. The association supported families, publicized the abductions, and promoted government action to secure the return of victims. The family's campaigning acquired an international dimension. Sakie Yokota met United States President George W. Bush and discussed the need for international pressure, including possible sanctions, against North Korea. She later testified publicly about Megumi's abduction. In 2014, Shigeru and Sakie met Megumi's daughter, Kim Eun-gyong, in a meeting that gave the family an opportunity to establish a relationship with a relative living in North Korea. The encounter did not answer the central question of whether Megumi had died, as North Korea claimed, or clarify the reliability of evidence presented by the North Korean authorities. Sakie met United States President Barack Obama in 2014 after Obama appeared with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The discussion covered Megumi's case and the wider group of Japanese abductees. Obama's expression of sympathy helped underline the international human-rights dimension of the issue. In 2017, President Donald Trump mentioned Megumi in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, using her case to condemn North Korea's treatment of abducted foreign nationals. North Korea has maintained that Megumi died in the country and has offered accounts and evidence intended to support that position. Japanese authorities and the Yokota family have challenged the conclusiveness of the explanation, and Megumi's current whereabouts remain unknown. The family and other relatives of abductees have continued to seek a full accounting of the cases. Shigeru Yokota died in Kawasaki on June 5, 2020, at age 87, following a lengthy hospitalization. A memorial service held on October 24, 2020, was attended by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Suga said he would continue working toward a breakthrough on the abductions issue. Sakie Yokota has preserved the family's account through public testimony and the book North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter. The Yokota family therefore represents a prominent case of family-led human-rights advocacy rather than a commercial brand, company, or product organization.

• 2020

  Death of Shigeru Yokota

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  Shigeru Yokota dies on June 5 at age 87. A memorial service later brings senior Japanese political figures together to discuss the continuing abductee issue.

• 2017

  Case raised at the United Nations

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  Donald Trump cites Megumi Yokota in his United Nations General Assembly speech about North Korea.

• 2014

  Meeting with Megumi's daughter

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Yokotas meet Kim Eun-gyong, Megumi's daughter, during a significant family encounter.

• 2013

  Sakie Yokota gives public testimony

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sakie Yokota testifies about Megumi's abduction and the family's continuing campaign for answers.

• 1997

  National abductee rescue association founded

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  Shigeru and Sakie Yokota and their twin sons help establish the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea.

• 1977

  Megumi Yokota is abducted

  [1]Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org

  Megumi Yokota disappears in Niigata at the age of 13. Japanese investigations later connect her case to North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.

A family advocacy identity centered on obtaining information about Megumi Yokota and supporting efforts to resolve the broader issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.

• 2014Obama meeting and public diplomacy

  Japan · United States

  Sakie Yokota met Barack Obama to discuss Megumi and other Japanese abductees after an Obama-Abe press conference.

  Outcome. The meeting reinforced the international human-rights profile of the abductees issue.

  Source
• 2000International diplomatic outreach

  Japan · United States

  Sakie Yokota engaged United States political leadership, including a meeting with George W. Bush, to discuss pressure on North Korea and the need to resolve the abduction cases.

  Outcome. The case gained greater international visibility, although Megumi's status remained unresolved.

  Source
• 1997Advocacy through the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea

  Japan · United States · International

  The Yokota family helped create and promote a national organization supporting relatives of Japanese abductees and pressing for government and international action.

  Outcome. The association became part of Japan's organized response to the abductions issue and helped maintain public and political attention.

  Source

1. 1Yokota familyen.wikipedia.org