OBAMA AND JAPAN / Concern rising over abduction issue.

OBAMA AND JAPAN / Concern rising over abduction issue

Yomiuri

This is the third installment of a series examining the prospects for Japan's relations with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, with a particular focus on security policies:

Referring to the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said at a Nov. 6 Tokyo press conference, "Any president of the United States would be responsive to that and would understand the sensitive nature of it and would be supportive of Japan's efforts."

The administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso will pay close attention to Obama's policies on North Korea. This reflects the Aso Cabinet's desire to resolve the abduction issue, which Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura has defined as "a diplomatic task …