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Kishida dons blue badge in support of Japanese abductees return from NK
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wearing a blue badge arrives at the airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Yonhap
By Kim Se-jeong
By Kim Se-jeong
As Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived at the airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday and greeted Korean officials welcoming him, those watching on TV grew curious about a blue badge pinned to the right lapel of his suitcoat.
The badge was seen he visited the Seoul National Cemetery and the presidential office where he met his Korean counterpart President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The blue badge is a symbol of the Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korean government agents. By wearing it, Kishida showed his solidarity with the families of the abductees in their fights to bring their missing family members home.
According to the Japanese foreign ministry website, the blue badge was made by a group of the abductees' family members, with the blue color representing the ocean that separates the abductees from the family members and the sky that could possibly connect them.
A total of 17 of its citizens were kidnapped by the North in the 1970s according to the Japanese foreign ministry. In 1987, allegations surfaced that the rogue state might have kidnapped them to train its spies in Japanese language and culture.
In 1991, the Japanese government officially demanded North Korea provide information about their whereabouts.
In 2002, five returned home on the occasion of the summit between then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. But, North Korea claimed it had kidnapped only 13 ― not 17 ― and eight had died.
The abduction issue remains unresolved and one of the biggest diplomatic hurdles between Japan and North Korea.
It is not the first time Kishida has worn the blue badge. He was also seen wearing it in March when Korean President Yoon visited Tokyo for a meeting.
His predecessors have also been seen wearing the blue badge.