Publication

This brief advocates a reassessment of Japan-North Korea relations in light of a new administration in Washington and a forthcoming national election in Japan. It focuses in particular on the plight of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The author states that the Japanese government approach has failed to produce a breakthrough on the abduction issue and argues that there is scope and opportunity to bring the issue forward once again as a possible channel for reopening dialogue between the two countries.