For nearly a half-century, the two women have held out hope of once again seeing their close friend, whose desk sat next to theirs in the classroom and was a member of the same school clubs.
It was 45 years ago on Tuesday that Megumi Yokota, then a 13-year-old junior high school student, was abducted by North Korean agents in Niigata City. For classmates Kunie Yamada and Emiko Shinbo, both now 57, it marks another year of not seeing their friend.
