Aging Families of Possible N. Korea Abductees Seek Wider Support

Tokyo, Feb. 14 (Jiji Press)--The families of missing persons believed to have been abducted by North Korea but not designated as such on the Japanese government's official list of abduction victims need broader support as their activities have been affected by aging.

Activities relying solely on family members are nearing their limits, say people involved in efforts to rescue possible abduction victims.

On Feb. 5, Shoichiro Akita, the father of Miwa, who is among the missing persons, died at the age of 93.

In December 1985, Miwa, then 21, called her mother to tell her that she would stay at a friend's house after leaving university in Kobe, the capital of the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo.

Miwa's shoes and other personal items were found the following day near the prefecture's coast facing the Sea of Japan.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]