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On September 8, DPJ Diet members, including Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masaharu Nakagawa, Senior Director of the Special Committee on North Korean Abduction Issue and Related Matters in the House of Councillors Shin-kun Haku, and Eiichiro Washio, Senior Director of the Special Committee on North Korean Abduction Issue and Related Matters in the House of Representatives, listened to a briefing from six NGOs regarding the human rights situation in North Korea, and exchanged opinions on various issues.
Six Japanese NGOs involved in the issue of North Korean human rights called for Japan, as one of the main sponsors of the UN resolution regarding North Korean human rights, to support the prompt establishment of a Commission of Inquiry during the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly, and to show leadership leading to the adoption of a UN resolution for the establishment of the aforesaid committee.
The organizations pointed out that, “Overseas, and particularly amongst Westerners who are actively engaged in human rights issues, there is a mistaken perception that Japan is vigorously pursuing the abduction issue, which is a matter that concerns the Japanese people, but is indifferent to human rights issues occurring inside North Korea.” They urged the DPJ to strengthen Japan’s perception of the seriousness of North Korean human rights issues. The DPJ side explained that the party was actively concerned with this issue, with party members having recently attended a meeting of the International Parliamentarians Coalition for North Korea or IPCNKR in Ottawa last month, and stated that they would like to deepen exchanges regarding the human rights situation in the North.
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