Megumi Yokota Photo Exhibition
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Posted: 09:30 AM JST
An exhibition of photos of Megumi Yokota, abducted by North Korean agents 29 years ago, will be held at Yokohama Takashimaya from April 4th to 11th. "A Message of Little Megumi and Her Family ~ Shigeru Yokota's Photo Exhibition" contains family photos and aims to increase awareness of North Korean abductees. "We wish you will understand," say the organizers, "their deep love for their daughter, the strong bonds of family, and the cruelty of this crime against humanity."
Megumi Yokota's parents only discovered that their daughter was abducted by a foreign country 9 years ago. Despite their great efforts, they have not yet succeeded in rescuing their daughter. North Korea has claimed that Megumi died, but there have been several reports that contradict this information.
The exhibition is organized by Asagao-no-kai, a group of volunteers living in the same building as
the parents of Megumi Yokota. It was established in 2003 to support the activities of the Yokota family. They assist Mr. and Mrs. Yokota in their daily life, collect petitions for the rescue of Megumi and other abductees, and apeal for help in rescuing the abductees by visiting embassies in Tokyo. The organization was named after Megumi's favorite flower, Morning Glory, "Asagao" in Japanese. Megumi gave such a flower to another abducted Japanese, Hitomi Soga, in North Korea.
This is the fifth exhibition. Previous exhibitions in Yurakucho, Tachikawa, and Niigata attracted 53,000 visitors. Another exhibition in Takasaki will be held from March 22nd to 28th. The organizers expect a total of 100,000 visitors during the exhibition in Yokohama.
Date: April 4 - April 11
Time: 10:00-18:30 (10:00-16:30 on 11th only)
Place: Yokohama Takashimaya 6F Rose Room (1-6-31 Minamisaiwai Nishi-ward, Yokohama -- West Exit of the Yokohama Station)
Host: Asagao-no-kai
Cohost: Asahi Shimbun, Kanagawa Prefecture ASA association
Support: Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City, Kawasaki City
Inquiries
Asagao-no-kai: Mori-san (in charge of photo exhibition) -- 080-5514-5664
Yokohama Takashimaya: Press officer Hanai-san or Yoshioka-san -- 045-313-1570
Keywords: national_news
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