“Are you listening Nori-chan? This is Tamaji. It has been almost 33 years since the day you suddenly disappeared on July 7^th 1973.Your mother, father, brothers and sisters have been trying to find you, but I’m sorry we have not yet been able to.

Some time after you disappeared, Anmyon Jin, a man who escaped from North Korea, came to Japan and told us that he met you back in 1991 when you were hospitalized at the 915 Hospital in Pyongyon. It was then that we finally realized where you have been. We learned that you are having a hard time in North Korea, a place so very far away from us.

While waiting for your return, our mother has since turned 89. She lives with us.  She goes to church every Sunday saying, “I’ll try and hope as much as I can until the day I see Nori-chan again!” And she prays for you. But her back is bent and her legs are weak and her hearing is much diminished. Please come home soon. 

My baby, whom you held when you were in 12^thgrade, is now 34 years old. And she is now the mother of an 11 year-old daughter and 9 year-old son.  It has been so long.

Since I know you have always been both a kind and determined girl, I imagine that you are trying hard to get along with others, and help others too. Please come home as soon as possible and please let us feel better.  Please show your face to our mother and tell us how you are doing and what kind of family you have.

Your classmates from Chiba Commercial High School, and those from the Ping Pong club, as well as Mr. Iwanaga of Kikuma Junior High School, the mayor of Ichihara, the citizens of Ichihara and people from all over Japan, are worried about you. They are trying as hard as possible to get you released from North Korea as soon as possible.  This shortwave radio broadcast is only one way to help gain your freedom; the Japanese government is trying many other ways to pressure the North Korean government, and to make this a top priority at the UN in order to secure the release all abductees, including you.

The time will come. Please be patient a while longer. I am sure you will return home. No matter what happens, please be patient and stay strong.

We hope you can come home as soon as possible; we look up at the same sky as you do, and are as active as we can be in our efforts to rescue you.  

Nori-chan, do you remember a song called “Furusato”?

I’d like to sing this song, since I want you to come back to Japan soon. Let’s sing it together.

And I hope you sing this song with our mom, brothers and sisters.”

Tamaji  Takeshita