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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Without a Trace |
| 2006-12-03 |
| Megumi Yokota was 13 when the North Koreans kidnapped her in 1977. She hasn't been heard from since. by Melanie Kirkpatrick, Wall Street Journal Scene: A lonely residential street in the city of Niigata, along the western coast of Japan. Time: Late afternoon in the autumn of 1977. Action: A 13-year-old girl is walking home from school, having stayed late for badminton practice. She waves goodbye to friends, turns the corner, and is never seen again. This is the true story of "Abduction," a documentary that opened in Japan last weekend after winning accolades at several international film festivals. The lost girl is Megumi Yokota. In 2002, North Korea admitted that it had kidnapped Megumi, along with 12 other Japanese citizens, enslaving them for the purpose of training its spies to pass as Japanese. "Megumi-chan," or "Little Megumi," is now a household name in Japan. President Bush met with Megumi's mother and brother in the White House last April, calling it "one of the most moving meetings since I've been the President." . . . |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #2 If it weren't for the United States and its sanctions, North Korea wouldn't have felt threatened, and they wouldn't have kidnapped this poor girl. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-12-03 23:33 |
| #1 In less enlightened times this sort of thing would have been cause for war. I suspect that Japan's phase-change is going to get very ugly for the Norks. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2006-12-03 10:24 |