Gov't to 'spare no effort' in offering abduction victims support+

TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo -
Japan's top government spokesman said Thursday the government ''will spare no
effort'' in offering support to victims of North Korean abductions who are now
in Japan, apparently indicating it intends to pay them benefits for five more
years after the initial period expires next March.
The Japanese government ''understands that the abductees are steadily on the
path toward self-reliance, but that they have lingering fears about their
future,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said at a press conference.
''The government will spare no effort in offering them support.''
His remarks came after the mayors of cities where the people currently live --
Kashiwazaki and Sado in Niigata Prefecture and Obama in Fukui Prefecture --
submitted a petition requesting the relief extension to Kyoko Nakayama, Prime
Minister Taro Aso's special adviser in charge of abductions, at the premier's
office Wednesday.
Under the law to support the kidnapping victims, they are eligible for benefits
for five years after declaring their intention to permanently reside in Japan.
Five abduction victims -- Kaoru and Yukiko Hasuike, Yasushi and Fukie Chimura,
and Hitomi Soga -- returned to Japan in October 2002, and along with their
family members, declared their intentions to live in Japan permanently and
applied for the benefits under the law in March 2005.
==Kyodo
2009-06-04 22:37:49