Book Review: Taking Tokyo to task for poor policy on North Korean abductions

An extraordinary new Japanese book sheds light on the story of Japanese people abducted by North Korea, telling the stories of the victims and their families in stunning detail and rebuking successive Japanese governments for choosing publicity stunts over diplomacy.

Over 250 pages, “Solving North Korea’s Abduction Problem: What’s the Key to Breaking the Impasse?” (北朝鮮拉致問題の解決：融着を破る鍵とは何か) examines how Pyongyang’s admission of crimes derailed negotiations with Tokyo to normalize relations, while arguing that talks are the only way to break the impasse.