All national dailies reported on Monday on a gathering held in Tokyo on Sunday to support family members of Japanese abductees at which Prime Minister Abe reiterated his hope to hold unconditional and candid talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. Asahi and Sankei wrote that the premier stated at the gathering that Chairman Kim must now understand that the United States attaches importance to the abduction issue because President Trump brought it up in his talks with Kim in February. Sankei wrote that Takuya Yokota, the brother of abductee Megumi Yokota, told the gathering that he confirmed at his meetings with USG officials in Washington earlier this month that the U.S. government is determined to resolve the issue.

In a related story, Yomiuri reported on the results of its nationwide public opinion poll conducted on May 17-19, in which 52% of the respondents supported Abe’s stance of seeking talks with Kim Jong Un without preconditions, while 33% did not.