According to the April Jiji Press opinion poll [conducted on April 6–9], 70.2% think Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should hold a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Meanwhile, 16.4% think such a summit should not be held, while 13.3% said they do not know whether there is a need for one. This is thought to reflect the fact that the U.S. and South Korea have both planned meetings with North Korea and China held a summit with North Korea in March.

North Korea has taken a proactive stance on dialogue since it participated in the PyeongChang Olympic Games in February. An inter-Korean summit is scheduled for April 27 and the U.S.-DPRK summit is planned to be held by early June. Japan has the outstanding issue of abductions in relation to the DPRK, but it is also looking for a way to meet with its Asian neighbor. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taking a cautious view of the matter, saying, “Dialogue for the sake of dialogue would be meaningless.” Among supporters of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 74.8% back holding a Japan-North Korea summit.