The mother of a Japanese woman who was kidnapped by North Korea when she was 13 years old has made a new call for the abductees to be brought back as soon as possible.

Yokota Megumi was kidnapped by North Korean agents on her way home from middle school in Niigata City on the Sea of ​​Japan. The kidnapping occurred on November 15, 1977, and he turned 60 last month.

His mother, Yokota Sakie, attended a fan group meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.

Yokota said he never expected to be separated from his daughter for 47 years.

Yokota remembered how he would cry in despair after Megumi’s sudden disappearance.

He said that the kidnapping issue is very important for Japan as well as the world, and that he now thinks that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is trying to resist on his own.

Yokota also said he always hoped a Japanese prime minister would have serious talks with the North Korean leader.

He then read a message to his daughter saying that he would wait for Megumi to return, and clung to the belief that she was still alive.

Yokota urged his daughter to believe that the day would come when she would set foot on Japanese soil along with the other kidnapping victims. He asked Megumi to stay well and not get sick.

There are currently 12 people determined by the Japanese government to have been kidnapped by North Korea and their whereabouts are unknown.

Of those kidnapped, only two of their parents are still alive, namely 88-year-old Yokota and 96-year-old Arimoto Akihiro, whose daughter Keiko was also smuggled to North Korea.

Yokota said after the meeting that 47 years was an incredibly long time and that he believed it was important to pray wholeheartedly for their return.