Japan seeks quick return of kidnap victims

TOKYO -- Japanese officials responded to enraged family members Wednesday with a promise to press North Korea to return several people abducted by its spies decades ago.

Japan's Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister's Office were flooded by phone calls accusing the government of neglect Wednesday, a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made the stunning admission that his nation's spies abducted a dozen or so Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s.

The anger spilled over to the large North Korean community in Tokyo, where the North Korean Residents Association received dozens of threatening phone calls, said association spokesman So Chung On. Police stepped up security around the group's facilities.

During an unprecedented summit Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Kim reversed years of denials and confirmed the abductions. He also said that at least four were still alive, but most of had died -- an outcome families found hard to accept after decades of waiting.

Initial shock turned into anger, both at North Korea and the Japanese government for ignoring reports of the abductions for decades. Koizumi admitted the government handling of the issue was imperfect.

"In the past there may have been cases that the government didn't handle perfectly," he told reporters at his official residence, without elaborating. "We should reflect on that."

Shinzo Abe, a senior official who accompanied Koizumi during the summit, vowed to keep pressure on Pyongyang for more details and help in getting survivors home. He made the promise while meeting with relatives of the abduction victims Wednesday.

Abe told NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, that officials were duty bound to be sure survivors listed by Pyongyang were still alive.

"We must help them meet relatives or return home if they wish to do so," he said.

Abe defended Koizumi, who now faces criticism for agreeing to resume normalization talks without demanding more information on the abductions.

"It was a tough decision, but I don't think he made a wrong one," Abe said.

Many of the families said they will not be satisfied until their relatives are safely home or until the details of what happened to them are known.

"I don't feel relieved at all," said Tamotsu Chimura, whose son, Yasushi, disappeared with fiance Fukie Hamamoto on July 7, 1978, after dining at a seaside restaurant.

Though Yasushi was among the four confirmed alive, his father said the lack of other information has only deepened his grief.

"It would almost have been better to have been told all of the missing were dead," Chimura said.

Koizumi, who said he "strongly protested" the abductions during his talks with Kim, was to meet with the families at his official residence next week.

Though Kim's confession paves the way for Japan and North Korea to begin the process of establishing diplomatic relations, Misako Kaji, Koizumi's spokeswoman, said Tokyo does not consider the matter closed.

"We want to pursue the issue of responsibility," she said. "All we confirmed yesterday was whether the missing were alive or dead."

A North Korean diplomatic official, quoted by the country's state-run media, announced Tuesday that Pyongyang was willing to assist survivors who want to return home. However, it remains unclear whether and how that would happen.

A junior high school in northern Japan that one abduction victim attended held a memorial Wednesday.