Songs for Megumi

Do you know the story of 横田めぐみ (Megumi Yokota)?

She has become a symbol of un-returned Japanese abductees in North Korea.

North Korea has abducted a number of people in other countries, mostly Japan, to train their spies in the language and customs of their countries so that the North Korean spies can assimilate into other countries more easily.

I wrote a post about the Japanese abductees. (Click here to read it. I wrote about the few abductees that were returned to Japan decades after the were kidnapped, and I also wrote about Megumi Yokota and her parents’ struggle to be reunited with their daughter before they die).

横田めぐみ (Megumi Yokota) was taken by North Korean agents in Japan when she was only thirteen years old. She was walking home from school when she was kidnapped and taken to North Korea thirty-three years ago.

At first the North Korean government denied kidnapping any Japanese people. Then, when presented with evidence, claimed that Megumi Yokota had committed suicide years ago…a claim which many in Japan don’t believe.

Anyways, there is a documentary about the 横田めぐみ (Megumi Yokota) story. And it turns out that Noel Paul Stookey of the folk music band “Peter, Paul and Mary” had watched the documentary, and so did the English pop star Peter Frampton.

And both Noel Paul Stookey and Peter Frampton were so moved by Megumi Yokota’s story that they both recorded songs about her.

Noel Paul Stookey‘s song is titled “Song For Megumi” and it’s in English but has a few lines in Japanese:

あなたはどこに？…風の中にあなたの声が聞こえます。

(excerpt of lyrics from the “Song For Megumi”)

Those lyrics mean “Where are you? I can hear your voice in the wind.”

Here is Noel Paul Stookey performing his song “Song For Megumi:

And Peter Frampton has just released a new album titled “Thank You Mr. Churchill”. One song on that album is titled “Asleep At The Wheel” and is about Megumi Yokota‘s story.
And another song is an instrumental titled “Suite Liberte A) Megumi B) Huria Watu“…the first half of the song is dedicated to Megumi Yokota.

Here is “Suite Liberte A) Megumi B) Huria Watu“:

The parents of 横田めぐみ (Megumi Yokota), who have to this day never given up their fight to have their daughter returned, said after learning about these songs that they hope the songs are popular and draw a lot of attention to the abductions in North Korea.

Abduction

Have you ever heard about North Korea’s abductions of other countries’ citizens?

They have abducted many people, mostly South Koreans, to help teach their spies English, Japanese and South Korean language and customs.

After years of denying that abductions have occurred, North Korea’s leader, Kimg Jong-Il admitted to then-Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi in 2002 that they abducted 13 Japanese (Japan claims the total is actually much higher), but all but five have died…although they failed to produce the remains or any other proof of the eight Japanese deaths—not even a death certificate.

In October 2002, the five Japanese abductees that North Korea admitted were alive were permitted to return to Japan for a temporary visit. But once they were back on Japan’s soil, the Japanese government informed North Korea that they won’t be returning them to North Korea.
That seems common sense to most people…but North Korea was angered.

When the five abductees returned to Japan, it was huge news in Japan!
When they first stepped off of the plane, they looked and acted like North Koreans. They had label pins of Kim Jong-Il’s image and they were quiet and hesitant to answer questions. They had been living in North Korea for about twenty-five years! But they soon began to relax and feel comfortable in Japan again…and their appearances physically changed…they began to look Japanese again.

One of the five returnees was Hitomi Soga. She returned alone…but her husband and two daughters were still in North Korea.
Her husband is Charles Robert Jenkins. He’s an American Army deserter. During the Vietnam War, he was stationed in South Korea…but when he learned that he would be sent to the battle zone in Vietnam, he defected to North Korea—and immediately regretted his decision!
He didn’t want to visit Japan with his wife because he feared Japan would turn him over to the American authorities to face desertion charges.
Since his wife would be staying in Japan and not return to North Korea, Japan negotiated with North Korea to allow Jenkins and his daughters to come to Japan.
Jenkins came to Japan and surrendered to American authorities at a U.S. Army base in Japan. He was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to thirty-days confinement and a Dishonorable Discharge.

He currently lives in Western Japan with his wife Hitomi Soga and their two daughters. He is in the process of becoming a naturalized Japanese citizen.

The most famous of the Japanese abductees in Megumi Yokota. She was just thirteen-years old when she was kidnapped by North Korean agents as she was walking home from school in November 1977.

Megumi Yokota would be 44 years old now. And North Korea said that she has a Korean husband and a daughter. But she wasn’t one of the five returnees in 2002…North Korea told Japan that she committed suicide in 1994.
When asked, North Korea couldn’t produce a death certificate or remains of Megumi, at first…they suddenly they offered Japan her cremated remains, but Japan conducted a DNA test on the ashes and discovered that they were the ashes of numerous people—none of which was Megumi Yokota!

Most Japanese (including the Yokota family) feel that Megumi Yokota is still alive in North Korea.

Megumi Yokota’s parents and the relatives of the other remaining abductees continue to petition the Japanese government (and the U.S. government) to pressure North Korea to return all abductees to their home countries.

There is a movie about Megumi Yokota‘s story…and her mother wrote a book (which has recently been translated into English).

I have been following the story of Megumi Yokota since I first heard about it around ten years ago. I can’t imagine her parents’ pain.