Yokota family

(Redirected from Shigeru Yokota)
Shigeru with Megumi in 1964

The Shigeru Yokota (November 14, 1932 – June 5, 2020) and wife Sakie Yokota (born February 4, 1936) were Japanese human rights activists and writers. They founded the Japanese National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea in 1997. It supports the victims of abductions of Japanese citizens by North Koreans in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Yokotas' daughter Megumi was kidnapped in 1977 by North Korean spies. She is currently missing.

Sakie Yokota once met with President George W. Bush to talk about sanctions on North Korea and in 2013 she testified about her daughter's abduction.

On June 5, 2020, Shigeru Yokota died at age 87.[1] It was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter expressing his condolences to Sakie over the death of her husband.[2]

References

  1. Shigeru Yokota, father of N Korea abductee, dies at 87
  2. "U.S. President Trump expresses condolences over death of abductee's father". The Japan Times. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.