The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Yukio Ubukata (Mainichi)

       TOKYO -- A member of Japan's main opposition party has apologized for saying during a September meeting that Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 aged 13, was no longer alive, after the families of abductees' groups released a statement protesting the remarks on Oct. 11.

       The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's (CDP) Yukio Ubukata, a House of Representatives member for the Chiba No. 6 constituency, has since retracted his comment.

       The remark was described as a "grave insult" and "disrespectful" to abductees and their families in a joint statement made by the family network for North Korea's abduction victims, known as "Kazoku-kai," and the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea formed by supporters for abductees' families, also known as "Sukuu-kai." The groups demanded the lawmaker retract and apologize for the comment, and asked the CDP to act on the matter.

       According to Ubukata's office, Sukuu-kai and other sources, Ubukata held a meeting to brief his constituents on national political affairs at the Matsudo civic center in the Chiba Prefecture city of Matsudo on Sept. 23. During a question-and-answer session he reportedly said that "no one believes Ms. (Megumi) Yokota is alive," and, "It's understood that the abductees don't exist today. All politicians think this way."

       Ubukata tweeted on Oct. 11, "I made an inappropriate comment. In addition to retracting it, I would like to apologize to the families of abduction victims as well as related parties."

       The CDP also released a comment the same day, saying, "Representative Ubukata's comment conflicts with the party's standing. The comment was hurtful to abduction victims and their family members, and we have strongly reprimanded him over the matter."

       (Japanese original by Buntaro Saito, Tokyo City News Department)

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