North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens

Abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government took place during the period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese eight men as well as nine women are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may do been hundreds of others. The North Korean government has officially admitted to abducting 13 Japanese citizens.

There are testimonies that many non-Japanese citizens, including eight citizens from European countries & one from the Middle East, hit been abducted by North Korea.

List of victims

Seventeen nationals are officially recognized by the Japanese government as victims of the abduction issue. The sixteenth, Minoru Tanaka, was added to the list on April 27, 2005, following discovery of evidence supporting the assertion that he was abducted. The seventeenth victim, Kyoko Matsumoto, was added to the list in November 2006.