Playback ’04] Hitomi Soga and Her Family Left in Indonesia “in limbo” by the Japanese and North Korean Governments

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we present ” Hitomi Soga’s ‘Family Reunion’ was a present for Prime Minister Koizumi” from the July 30, 2004 issue, 20 years ago.

On July 9, 2004, Hitomi Soga, then 45, an abductee who had been separated from her family in North Korea since returning to Japan in 2002, was reunited with her husband Jenkins, then 64, and two daughters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The sight of Ms. Soga jumping up and down and passionately kissing Mr. Jenkins brought tears to the eyes of people around the world. However, behind this “tearful reunion” there was an “agenda” of the Japanese and North Korean governments.

“A ‘surprise’ was needed before the House of Councillors election.

“The Koizumi administration wanted a ‘surprise’ before the Upper House election that would be a decisive factor in its victory. Meanwhile, North Korea was seeking economic aid from Japan as soon as possible. The fact that the family’s early reunion, which was initially thought to be difficult, was suddenly realized just before the election is due to the fact that the two countries’ intentions were perfectly aligned.

A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is familiar with the situation in North Korea, said, “The reason for this is that the two countries’ intentions were perfectly aligned.

North Korea showed an unparalleled response to Japan’s request, including a live video feed of Jenkins and his family leaving Pyongyang. Behind this cooperative attitude was the deteriorating domestic economic situation.

The “military-first politics,” in which all goods and rights are distributed in favor of the military, has collapsed. Even the families of military personnel in the North are now starving. This was unthinkable before. With support from the military weakening, Kim Jong-il’s need for economic aid from Japan is increasing.

However, if Prime Minister Koizumi is mocked, he will have to re-establish connections with the next administration. But North Korea does not even have time for that. That is why, as soon as the Japanese media started reporting that the LDP’s Upper House election was in jeopardy, they rushed to set up a time for the reunion,” said a senior Foreign Ministry official.

In other words, the family reunion was a gift from Kim Jong Il, who wanted to stabilize his own position by prolonging the life of the Koizumi administration. North Korea is also said to be preparing gifts such as the return of the Yodo-go hijackers and information on the safety of the 10 abductees, including Megumi Yokota. North Korea is not interested in Jenkins and the other abductees, who are currently in “limbo,” and has no intention of returning them to the North.

The only key to whether Mr. Soga and his family will be able to live in Japan is the issue of prosecuting Mr. Jenkins, who is a “fugitive” from the U.S. military. The government should do its utmost to negotiate with the U.S. government to address this issue, but after the election to the upper house of the Diet, the Prime Minister’s Office responded by saying, “We will let the family decide after consulting with them,” as if it were someone else’s problem. The reason for this was given by an official of the Liberal Democratic Party as follows.

“To begin with, Prime Minister Koizumi’s main goal was to reunite the Soga family before the House of Councillors election. He had no idea what would happen after that. The government’s words were, in essence, ‘Nothing will be done. We lost the Upper House election, and we don’t want to cause any friction with the U.S., so there is nothing we can do.

The Soga family is currently living in a suite at a top-class hotel in Jakarta, shutting out all noise from the outside world.

Before meeting Soga in Jakarta, Mr. Jenkins had not made up his mind to come to Japan. However, Mr. Jenkins was persuaded by Ms. Soga in Jakarta and decided to move to Japan with his family. However, the U.S. government’s position that Mr. Jenkins was in a position to be prosecuted as a deserter remained consistent, and if he came to Japan, he might have to be turned over to the U.S. military. In the end, Mr. Jenkins came to Japan with Mr. Soga and his daughters on the 18th under the guise of “for medical treatment.

In November 2004, Jenkins was court-martialed in Japan and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and 30 days in prison. After his release in 2005, he spent the rest of his life on Sado Island, Mr. Soga’s hometown, until his death in December 2005. In April of this year, Mr. Soga, who had been working at a welfare facility on Sado Island, was transferred to the Abduction Victims Countermeasures Section of the Sado City Office. She is working for her mother, Miyoshi, who was abducted together with her and remains missing, and for abductees who have yet to return home.