Posted on 10/16/2002 7:35:24 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Abductees clam up on what happened to other Japanese
Takuya Karube
Wednesday, October 16, 2002 at 20:00 JST TOKYO — The family members of Japanese who are reported to have died since being abducted to North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s were disappointed Wednesday over not being able to obtain helpful information from five abductees who began a temporary homecoming Tuesday.
Speaking at a news conference held after talks with the five abductees, the members of six families all expressed dissatisfaction, saying the five responded to their questions in almost the same manner.
Not only did the five people have no current information regarding the abductees Pyongyang said have died, they also did not say anything negative about North Korea and refrained from talking about issues related to their abductions, the family members said.
"Anything related to politics as well as the abductions was totally rejected. They did not know a Korean Air jet was bombed (by North Korean agents in 1987). They did not know about missing Japanese nationals," said Shigeo Iizuka, 64, whose sister Yaeko Taguchi was abducted to the North in June 1978 and listed as among the dead abductees by Pyongyang.
"They could not face us directly and all looked down. I am happy that they temporary returned but disappointed at their reaction," he added.
Teruaki Masumoto, 47, younger brother of Rumiko Masumoto who was abducted in August 1978 and listed among the dead by Pyongyang, asked the five how they were abducted from Japan and how they have been treated in North Korea.
He said the only accounts he was able to get from them were that the five did not face any violence when they were abducted and thereafter they have been treated politely by North Koreans.
Initially the family members were scheduled to meet with the five all at once, but it was decided that each family would have talks separately with Yasushi Chimura, Fukie Hamamoto, Kaoru Hasuike, Yukiko Okudo and Hitomi Soga.
What the five told each family was more or less the same, the family members said.
Hasuike's brother Toru, 47, said, "Besides the parents of Megumi Yokota, the five at the beginning said they did not want to have talks."
Toru said he was not sure why the five were only willing to meet the parents of Yokota, who was abducted to North Korea and reportedly died in the country after having a daughter.
"It seems the five had a prior agreement what to say," the brother said.
Upon leaving to Japan Hasuike told his children in North Korea he would be on a business trip, while his wife Yukiko Okudo told them she would be on a trip, according to Kaoru.
Toru added that he was advised by his younger brother not to get involved too much in the abduction issue. Toru said his younger brother spoke as if he was someone in the government, saying, "The abduction issue should be resolved and not hinder normalizing ties between the two countries." (Kyodo News)
When you move to the private TV channels, they talk about it. The daily sports newspapers like Fuji, or Nikkan Gendai, which you can buy just before getting on the subway, at kiosks (rather lurid, throw away tabloids) are full of comments about how they have been brainwashed. These tend to be the most frank in Japan; even though they are low class, people turn to them for the most news with the limited amount of filter and bullshit. In this case, I tend to believe the tabloids in Japan and my own eyes when I see such horrid, amazing press conferences.
In the case of the japanese no longer alive (as they say--who knows?) it is almost humorous. Two died in traffic accidents the same day, one died of carbon monoxide poising from a coal stove, one hung herself in a psycho ward, two died in a landslide,e tc. etc. In most of the cases, the bodies were not recovered. In only one case did they turn over the remains. And scientific tests in Tokyo showed the body was CREMATED TWICE! (This in a country, North Korea, which buries rather than cremates).
We have no way of knowing if the other 8 are still alive, or if they did die, certainly very few died the way the North Koreas said they did. By the way, most of these were young healthy Japanese.
My guess, they were executed in front of their fellow Japanese captives as examples to try not to defect or escape or not cooperate with tasks.
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