Bringing Home the Japanese Abductees from North Korea

This paper discusses the official and unofficial attitude of former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo towards the abductions of Japanese people by North Korea. Officially, Abe displayed an aggressive attitude towards the problem. However, unofficially, he possessed an ingratiating attitude. A Japanese weekly magazine reported that he had been in regular negotiations with North Korea surreptitiously. Abe's ingratiating attitude may be explained by his alleged connection with the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity—which preaches the establishment of a harmonious relationship with North Korea. Abe's dual attitude confounded the families of the abductees as they were unable to ascertain which of his attitudes was genuine.