Yokota Sakie, the mother of Yokota Megumi, who was abducted by North Korean agents decades ago when she was 13, visited a photo exhibition of her missing daughter held in Tokyo on September 5.

The exhibition in Adachi Ward displays various photos of Megumi that her late father Yokota Shigeru took before she was kidnapped to North Korea in November 1977.

S/ Yokota Sakie, Mother of Megumi: I have no words. It’s been 47 years. 47 years are truly a lifetime. An entire life wasted like that. The fact that something like abduction, which could happen to any Japanese person, has been left unaddressed is deeply regrettable to me.

The 88-year-old Sakie once again urged the Japanese government to take responsibility and make a life-or-death effort to bring abducted Japanese people back, calling for action toward a resolution.

The photo exhibition will be held until September 8.