Yaeko Taguchi

Taguchi worked as a bar hostess in Tokyo, Japan, to raise her two children, a one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, after divorcing her husband.[http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/01/16/2009011600012.html "내 일어(日語)선생 이은혜가 다구치 맞다" 김현희, NHK 인터뷰… "北 사망주장은 거짓"] 조선일보 2009.01.16 {{in lang|ko}}[http://chn.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/01/16/20090116000011.html 金贤姬：我日语老师是被北韩绑架的田口八重子] 朝鲜日报中文网 2009.01.16 {{in lang|zh}} She disappeared in June 12, 1978, at the age of 22, after dropping her children off at a day care centre.{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,354086,00.html|title=Accounted for, at Last|date=3 October 2002|magazine=TIME Magazine|author=Unmesh Kher|access-date=18 July 2017|via=content.time.com}}

She was forced to help teach Japanese to North Korean spy Kim Hyon-hui, who was the only surviving bomber of Korean Air Flight 858.[http://www.npa.go.jp/keibi/gaiji1/abd_e/ri_une_e.html Suspected Abduction Cases by North Korea "Lee Un Hae" Case] National Police Agency[http://www.npa.go.jp/keibi/gaiji1/abd_j/ri_une.html 北朝鮮による拉致事案について 李恩恵（リ・ウネ）拉致容疑事案] 警察庁 {{in lang|ja}} In 2002, North Korea admitted that she and others had been abducted, but claimed that she had died on July 30, 1986, more than a year before the KAL 858 incident. Kim Hyon Hui testified Taguchi was given the Korean name Lee Un-hae ({{Korean|hangul=리은혜|hanja=李恩恵|rr=|mr=}}) in North Korea. Kim said Taguchi often wept when telling her how much she missed her children.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090122222749/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200901/200901160017.html Japanese Abduction Victim Still Alive, Says KAL Bomber], Chosun Ilbo January 16, 2009François Bougon, [https://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/a-chilling-tale-of-ordinary-japanese-abducted-by-north-korean-spies/tokyo-pyongyang-abduction-kim-il-sung/c1s10355/ A Chilling Tale Of Ordinary Japanese Abducted By North Korean Spies], Worldcrunch, December 25, 2012

Her fate in North Korea is unknown, but the Japanese government believed that Taguchi may still have been alive in 2000 and 2009.

Her children were raised by her siblings in Japan. Her son Koichiro was raised by her brother Shigeo Izuka and his wife, while her daughter was adopted by her older sister after her ex-husband was banned from visiting.[http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=060000&biid=2009030604668 Son of NK Kidnap Victim Yearns to See His Mother], Dong-a Ilbo, March 6, 2009 When they were adults, Shigeo told them that they were Taguchi's children.[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20090222a3.html Taguchi's son seeks clues from ex-agent] The Japan Times Feb 22, 2009 Her son, an engineer at an information technology company in Tokyo, went public in 2004 claiming that claims of her death were "nonsense", and he wanted her returned. Shigeo became Chair of the Association of NARKN along with the Yokota family.

In 2008, Taguchi's son Koichiro Izuka said:

{{blockquote|I was separated from my mother just 30 years ago when I was 1 year and four months old. Therefore I don't remember my mother's warmth, voice, or smell. We want to return to being an ordinary family, and regain a part of the time lost over the last 30 years.[http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/crime/080704/crm0807042247058-n1.htm 「母を紡ぐ」息子の思い] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010195739/http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/crime/080704/crm0807042247058-n1.htm |date=2008-10-10 }} SANKEI SHINBUN 2008.7.4 (Japanese)}}

In March 2009, Kim Hyon-hui met Yaeko Taguchi's son Koichiro Izuka in Busan, South Korea. Kim told Izuka she believes Taguchi is still alive. Izuka said, "I received evidence that my mother is certainly alive. I have new hope for our rescue efforts."[http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200903/200903120001.html KAL Bomber Meets Abduction Victim's Family] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404000200/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200903/200903120001.html |date=2009-04-04 }} Chosun Ilbo Mar.12,2009 In October 2011, South Korean intelligence agencies reported they believed dozens of South Korean and Japanese abduction victims were moved to Wonhwa-ri in South Pyongan Province; this group may have included Taguchi, Megumi Yokota, and Tadaaki Hara.[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/09/24/2011092400324.html N.Korea Moves Abduction Victims to Remote Internment Camp] Chosun Ilbo Sep. 24, 2011

In 2014 Taguchi's brother, too, testified about her kidnapping.{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/03/18/2014031801001.html|title=UN Rights Envoy Urges Action Against N.Korea|website=The Chosun Ilbo|access-date=2014-03-18|archive-date=2014-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318163017/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/03/18/2014031801001.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/18/national/u-n-support-sought-by-kin-of-abductees/|title=U.N. support sought by kin of abductees|date=18 March 2014|via=Japan Times Online|access-date=18 March 2014|archive-date=18 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318212616/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/18/national/u-n-support-sought-by-kin-of-abductees/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/30/world/asia/japan-north-korea-abduction-talks/index.html|title=Abductees family hope North Korea talks bring closure|first=Will |last=Ripley|website=CNN|date=July 2014}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/world/asia/north-korea-kidnap-japanese-trump.html|title=For Families of Japanese Abducted by North Korea, Trump Visit Brings Spotlight|last=Rich|first=Motoko|date=2017-11-03|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-25|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Taguchi was played by Mayumi Sada in the 2006 NTV television film Saikai ~Yokota Megumi-san no Negai~. A Japanese documentary about Kim Hyun-hui's life featured her meeting Yaeko and how she sings lullabies to her children.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5W5PUxrGuo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/q5W5PUxrGuo |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|script-title=ja:大韓航空機爆破事件~金賢姫を捕らえた男たち|trans-title=Korean Air bomb blast incident - men capturing Kim & Hime|last=scramble749|date=15 October 2010|via=YouTube|language=ja}}{{cbignore}} Her son Koichiro Izuka wrote his book When My Mother was Kidnapped I was One about how he was adopted by his uncle as a baby and struggled for 20 years to see his mother again. It was adapted as a manga authored by Souichi Mato, who wrote about Kaoru Hasuike's and Megumi Yokota's lives in North Korea.{{cite web|url=http://www.futabasha.co.jp/booksdb/smp/book/bookview/978-4-575-71349-7/smp.html|script-title=ja:株式会社双葉社 -コミック文庫)母が拉致された時 僕はまだ一歳だった|trans-title=When my mother was kidnapped I was only one year old|website=www.futabasha.co.jp|language=ja}}

{{Portal|North Korea|Japan|Biography}}

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{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web |first1= Michael Donald|last1=Kirby |author-link1=Michael Kirby (judge) |first2=Sonja |last2=Biserko |author-link2=Sonja Biserko |first3= Marzuki|last3=Darusman |author-link3=Marzuki Darusman |date=7 February 2014 |title=Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - A/HRC/25/CRP.1 |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council |url= http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227104633/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc | archive-date= February 27, 2014 |url-status=live |pages=288–298 (Paragraph 936) |quote= Ms Taguchi Yaeko disappeared from Tokyo in June 1978, leaving behind two very young children. Former DPRK agent Kim Hyon-hui, convicted of bombing a Korean Air jet in November 1987, is believed to have been taught how to pass herself off as Japanese by Ms Taguchi. The DPRK alleged that Ms Taguchi died at age 30. However, the DPRK authorities have not provided any credible evidence in support of their claim. }}

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{{North Korean abductions}}

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Category:1955 births

Category:1970s missing person cases

Category:Kidnapped Japanese people

Category:Missing person cases in Japan

Category:Missing Japanese people

Category:North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens

Category:People of the Shōwa era

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