AMBASSADOR VISITS ABDUCTION SITE OF MEGUMI YOKOTA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 001436

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO EAP A/S HILL.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL JA KN KS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR VISITS ABDUCTION SITE OF MEGUMI YOKOTA

REF: TOKYO 02971


1. SUMMARY: Ambassador Schieffer visited Niigata City on
March 16 and retraced the route 13 year old Megumi Yokota
took the night she was abducted by agents of the DPRK in 1977
on her way home from school. He was accompanied by Mr. and
Mrs. Yokota and over 50 reporters. The Ambassador then met
with 12 members of the two leading abductee family members
support groups, as well as representatives of the local
Niigata Prefectural Assembly. During the meeting, and in a
press conference that followed, the Ambassador:

-- pledged that so long as he is Ambassador, he will make
every effort to resolve this issue and to see that justice is
done;

-- assured the families that Japanese officials are working
hard to resolve the issue, and raise it every time they meet
with the Ambassador to discuss North Korea.

-- promised continued cooperation with Japan to resolve this
issue, but pointed out that the decision to apply sanctions
against the DPRK is a matter for the Japanese government to
decide; and

-- said he has discussed this with the President and, moved
by the first-hand account he had received, would do so again.


The families and their supporters expressed their
appreciation for the U.S. Government's strong support for
their cause, and for the Ambassador's willingness to
personally come to Niigata City. The day's events generated
extremely positive press coverage in all major Japanese media
outlets for the support shown by the United States. END
SUMMARY.


2. On March 16, 2006, Ambassador Schieffer visited Niigata
City and walked with Mr. and Mrs. Yokota, retracing the steps
their 13 year old daughter Megumi had taken the night she was
abducted by North Korean agents on her way home from junior
high school in November 1977. The visit fulfilled an offer
the Ambassador had made during his initial meeting with the
abductee families in May 2005 (reftel). During that meeting,
he had offered to meet with more family members and travel to
an abduction site to see for himself what had happened.

The Saddest Story I Have Ever Heard
--------------


3. As the Yokota's walked with the Ambassador, they
explained that two classmates had accompanied Megumi part of
the way home. First one, and then the other wished Megumi
good night as they neared their respective homes located just
blocks from the school. Based on the response of police dogs
who later tracked the scent from a representative piece of
clothing, police concluded that Megumi was snatched by
kidnappers as she was walking alone, just a couple of blocks
from her home. National Police Agency investigators believe
Megumi was likely grabbed from behind and bundled into a car
that took her to the nearby seacoast, Mrs. Yokota explained;
one of their neighbors later reported hearing a girl scream
at the time Megumi would have normally reached that corner on
her walk home.


4. After viewing the location of the Yokota's former home
two blocks down that side street, the Ambassador and Mr. and
Mrs. Yokota were driven through a windbreak of pine trees to
Yorii Beach. From there, they looked out over the Sea of
Japan in the direction of North Korea while the Yokotas
explained the evidence gathered from other sources --
including a DPRK defector who claims knowledge of Megumi's
abduction -- which indicates she was likely bundled into a
small boat at some point along the beach and taken out to a
pre-arranged rendezvous with a larger DPRK vessel. The long
walk gave the Ambassador the opportunity to express to the
Yokota's his personal sadness and deep sympathy over the
abduction of their daughter. While viewing the abduction

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site, and again at the later press conference, the Ambassador
said, "I think this is the saddest story I have ever heard."


5. A crowd of about 50 reporters -- representing every major
Japanese national TV network, newspaper and wire service --
followed the Ambassador and the Yokota's as they walked from
Yorii Junior High School to Yorii Beach. At the noontime
press conference that followed, the Ambassador noted that
some of the reporters were crying as the Yokotas spoke.
Throughout the day, network news programs replayed scenes of
the Yokotas speaking with the Ambassador as they walked
along, and featured a number of moving quotes from the press
conference. National network NTV, in an unusual move,
devoted a full 20-minute segment of their afternoon program
"The Wide" to the Ambassador's visit and the Yokota story.

Request to Meet With the President
--------------


6. After their stop at Yorii Beach, the Ambassador and Mr.
and Mrs. Yokota held a meeting at the Niigata Hotel with
officials from the two primary abductee support groups -- The
Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North
Korea (AFVKN) and the National Association for the Rescue of
Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARKN). The former
principal of Megumi's school and one of the classmates who
had walked home with her the night she was abducted were also
present. At that meeting, Mr. Yokota expressed heartfelt
appreciation to the Ambassador for coming to Niigata.
Teruaki Masumoto, Secretary General of AFVKN whose sister is
an abductee, said they believe over 100 Japanese citizens
were abducted by DPRK agents. To date, five have been
returned. Masumoto stressed that many of the family members
are growing old, making resolution of the abduction issue an
urgent priority. "Your coming here will put a lot of
pressure on North Korea," Masumoto told the Ambassador,
adding that he considers the actions of the U.S. Embassy to
be "a great contribution to solving this issue."


7. Speaking on behalf of the Yokotas, Masumoto suggested
that if the President were to meet with Mrs. Yokota when she
travels to Washington to testify before Congress in late
April, it would put additional pressure on North Korea by
making it clear that U.S. concerns about the DPRK will not be
fully resolved until Pyongyang addresses the abduction issue.
Several participants expressed displeasure with the lack of
progress by their own government, commenting that Japan
appears "hesitant to call North Korea a rogue nation," and
"should do more to protect the rights of its citizens." The
issue will be difficult to resolve without more pressure,
Tadashi Takahashi, Chair of the Niigata Prefecture
Parliamentarian League for the Abduction Issue, remarked.
Japan used to view the North Korean ferry (which regularly
calls at Niigata Port) as a ship of peace; now Japan sees it
as a "ship of devils," Takahashi added. Yoshie Baba, Chair
of NARKN's Niigata Chapter, noted that the Ambassador's visit
was the first time a U.S. official had come to Niigata to
address this issue.

A Testament to the Love You Hold
--------------


8. In his comments to the families and their supporters, the
Ambassador said that his visit had given him a deeper
perspective on the problem. He expressed his sadness over
the "unbelievable burden" the family members have had to bear
for so many years. "What comes home to me as I have listened
to you is the incredible anguish that has come to your life.
How could anyone sit at a table in North Korea and justify
their policy of abductions? It is as if conscience and
kindness that are a part of being human deserted those who
made that decision," the Ambassador said.


9. Responding to the families' request to meet with the
President, the Ambassador assured them he had spoken to
President Bush about this issue and -- moved by what he had
seen and heard that day -- intended to do so again. He
pledged that so long as he is U.S. Ambassador to Japan, he

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would make every effort to resolve the issue and to see that
justice is done. He pledged to continue to work with the
Japanese government until this issue is resolved, adding that
the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions against the
DPRK is a matter for the Japanese government to decide. In
both the private meeting and press conference that followed,
the Ambassador stressed that the Japanese government was
listening to the families. "Every time I have met with
Japanese officials to discuss North Korea, they have raised
the abduction issue," he said. "Japanese officials want to
resolve this issue and always refer to it in terms of the
overall goals we share for the Six-Party Talks," he assured.


10. At the conclusion of the Ambassador's meeting with
AFVKN/NARKN, Mr. and Mrs. Yokota presented him with a photo
album containing pictures of their daughter as a child, and
later as an adult woman living in North Korea. Despite the
DPRK's claim that Megumi Yokota committed suicide in the
early 1990s, Mr. and Mrs. Yokota and many of their supporters
believe the woman in those photographs is Megumi Yokota.
They are convinced she is still alive and living somewhere in
North Korea. The Ambassador thanked the Yokota's and their
supporters for their continuous and tireless efforts on
behalf of the abducted family members. He noted how
difficult it must be to relive these tragic events nearly
every day. "Your efforts are a testament to the love you
hold for them," the Ambassador said.
SCHIEFFER