I don't want to tell a lie, so I'll tell what I honestly think about “the abduction.”

I knew that North Korea had abducted Japanese people in the past, but I didn't have much interest in it.

　At such time, my mother showed me the movie “Megumi.” I watched the anime at 1.5x speed. However, now that I think about it, I am ashamed of myself and wonder why I acted in such a way without thinking about the abductees or the person who made the movie.

When I learned about what happened to Megumi on the day of her abduction, and I imagined the fear she felt at that time, I felt anger and pain. After watching that movie, something in my heart clearly changed.

　A while later, I knew there was a lecture by Sakie Yokota, Megumi’s mother, so I attended the lecture and met her for the first time. After hearing her story directly, I felt that she has never given up and is living every minute of her life strongly. On the other hand, she seemed like a normal person to me. In other words, people who were living a normal life just like me suddenly became victims.

　Apart from this lecture, when I heard the words of the family of Miyoshi Soga, another abductee, I realized that it wasn't just an abductee that was robbed, but also very precious time. Even if the abductees return to Japan, the precious time will never come back. I realized that they had been robbed of all the time such as time around the table with family and time with friends at school.

　Now that I understand the feelings of abductees and their families more deeply, what can I, a high school student, do for them?

I am currently studying abroad. Far away from Japan, I am thinking about “the abduction”

and imagine what the abductees and their families feel, and wondering what I can do.

I believe that most Japanese have the same feelings about “the abductions” no matter where they are. Or rather, this feeling should be shared all over the world. However, I suppose that many people in the world don’t know about “the abduction.” I asked my homestay family and friends from countries other than Japan if they knew about “the abduction.” Their answer was “No.”

　In Japan, everyone knows about “the abduction.” However, I realized that there are many people outside of Japan who don't know about it.

Therefore, I believe that talking about “the abduction” with my friends and teachers in countries other than Japan and thinking about positive solutions together with people around the world is what I can do as a high school student.

I believe that we should not only face the issue of “the abduction” within Japan, but the entire world. Let's do our best and never give up until the end.