KASHIWAZAKI — 1978 · Missing Person
The Couple Who Vanished in Kashiwazaki — a North Korean Abduction
On 19 July 1978, a young law student and his girlfriend vanished without a trace in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. For years their families had no idea what had happened to them. The disappearances were part of a series of similar incidents along Japan's coast in the late 1970s. At the Japan–North Korea summit in Pyongyang on 17 September 2002, North Korea officially admitted for the first time that it had abducted Japanese citizens. The couple, who had married in North Korea in 1980, returned to Japan on 15 October 2002 with three other abductees after 24 years, and their children were released in 2004. Japan officially recognises 17 abduction victims, many of whose fates remain unknown.
- Date
- 1978
- Place
- Niigata Prefecture, Japan, Kashiwazaki, JP
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 37.3720, 138.5590 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 19 July 1978The couple disappeared in Kashiwazaki.
- May 1980The couple married in North Korea.
- 17 September 2002North Korea officially admitted the abductions at the Pyongyang summit.
- 15 October 2002The couple returned to Japan after 24 years.
- 2004The couple's two North Korean-born children were brought to Japan.
Sources
- Nippon.com — Japan's Failure to Bring North Korea's Abductees Home nippon.com ↗
- Nippon.com — Freed victim opens up about kidnapping in new book nippon.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Kaoru Hasuike en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Nippon.com
- Wikipedia (EN)
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.