Takaichi pledges to seek a breakthrough on the abductions issue

said in her remarks as follows: Thank you very much, Chairman Furuya of the Parliamentary League on the Abductions Issue, Ms. Yokota, Mr. Iizuka, Mr. Nishioka, and everyone else, for taking time out of your very busy schedules to come to the Prime Minister’s Office today. I understand that during your visit to the United States, you conveyed your earnest desire for a resolution of the abductions issue to a great many people, including U.S. government officials, members of the U.S. Congress, and experts, and that, through your appeals for the issue to be resolved as soon as possible, you gained the understanding and support of the U.S. side. I would like to express my heartfelt respect for your longstanding efforts. I am also grateful for this opportunity today to hear directly from you. Around the same time, I myself was in New York, where I held a summit meeting with President Trump. During that meeting as well, he assured me of his strong support regarding the abductions issue. As you mentioned earlier, I also raised the issue in my address at the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, appealing to the international community. Since taking office, whenever leaders of other countries have visited Japan or I have held bilateral meetings with them on the occasion of international conferences and other events, I have, without exception, raised the abductions issue with them. I have also expressed my gratitude to countries that have already extended their cooperation and continued to make appeals for their support. Yesterday happened to be Ms. Yokota Megumi’s birthday. It is heartbreaking. The abductions issue is one on which we have no time to lose, and it is also a grave humanitarian issue. Since taking office, I have been working in concert with the Chief Cabinet Secretary and making various approaches through various channels, determined to persevere until the day comes when the abductees can set foot on the soil of their homeland again. We will continue these efforts, and I intend to confront this issue with a firm determination to make a breakthrough at all costs during my tenure. Let us continue to work together. Thank you very much.