Support and challenges for kidnapping victims and their families in Japan

After the first North Korea-Japan summit in 2002, five kidnapping victims returned to Japan, and after the second North Korea-Japan summit in May 2004, eight members of three families of kidnapping victims returned to Japan. Japan supported the establishment of a stable living foundation and independence for kidnapping victims and their families as they returned to Japan and expressed their intention to live permanently. This support system is based on the 'Law on Support for Victims Kidnapped by North Korea' (Kidnapping Victims Support Law) and the 'Enforcement Rules for the law on Support for Victims Kidnapped by North Korea' (Enforcement Rules) in December 2022. Accordingly, this study analyzes the support methods and support system for kidnapped victims and their families who have returned to Japan based on an understanding of Japan's perception and approach strategy toward the kidnapping issue. This study investigates the reality of the support system for the livelihood and self-reliance of kidnapped victims and their families who returned to Japan, which has not been mentioned at all in previous analyses of North Korea-Japan relations. It can provide meaningful policy implications for reexamining the support system for the approximately 34,000 North Korean defectors who have currently settled and are living in South Korea, as well as for seeking solutions to the “abductee” issue and future support measures.