Tale of Yokota's abduction by North now recounted in comic-book form

The Associated Press
Megumi Yokota's status as an abduction victim means that her photos have been staple fare for Japanese newspapers, magazines and television stations for some time.

This week, Yokota, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1977, appears in an unusual format: a comic book.

The latest issue of "Manga Action" has "Megumi" as its cover feature, detailing how she was abducted as a 13-year-old from Japan's remote northwest coast.

"Abduction could have happened to any of us," said Katsushi Minoura, chief editor at Futabasha Publishers Ltd. "We're hoping that readers try to imagine what it was like."

Japanese comics do not shy away from controversy. Aside from action heroes, sexual themes and crime, the elaborately drawn works tackle heavy issues such as finance, scandals and history.

The story of Megumi Yokota, however, is particularly sensitive territory.

Yokota is one of 13 Japanese nationals whom North Korea has admitted kidnapping in the 1970s and '80s for the purpose of training spies. Five have since been repatriated, but Pyongyang claims the eight others -- Yokota among them -- died in the reclusive state.

North Korea has failed to substantiate these claims, and many Japanese suspect some of them may still be alive. And while Japan has urged North Korea to investigate the cases, little progress has been made.

Yokota has long been a symbol of the kidnappings: Her parents have spearheaded a campaign to prize information from North Korea, while her photos -- showing a full-faced and innocent teenager -- have been a rallying point for anger and indignation about the crimes.

That indignation peaked earlier this month when DNA tests showed that human remains said by North Korea to be those of Yokota were actually those of two unidentified people.

The story told in "Megumi" starts on Nov. 15, 1977 -- the date on which she vanished on her way home from school after attending badminton practice.

Narrated by her mother, the story details the girl's last day in Japan, while a hazily drawn half-page panel shows Yokota's turned back as she walks to school. "I saw her," the mother's voice says as Yokota walks away. "That was the last time."

The 46-page section -- the first in a planned nine-part series -- also depicts the anguish of Yokota's parents, who found out 20 years after their daughter's disappearance that she could still be alive in North Korea.

In the section's most disturbing scene, based on an account from a North Korean spy who defected to the South, Yokota is shown in the hold of her abductors' boat. She screams for her mother and claws so desperately at the wooden walls of the enclosure that her fingernails tear and bleed.

This is the magazine's second series focusing on the abductions; "Recapturing" is based on a book written by Toru Hasuike, brother of abductee Kaoru Hasuike, one of the five victims who returned home in 2002.

That series, now published in two-part book form, describes the family's battle against "lawless North Korea and incompetent Japan" in trying to win back their loved ones. The surprise return of Hasuike's children during the series gave it a happy ending.

"I hope the same happens to the Megumi series," Minoura said. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Megumi-san returns before the series ends, and points out our mistakes?"