is a Japanese citizen, one of several kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Abduction

Taguchi worked as a bar hostess in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, to raise her two children, a one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, after divorcing her husband. She disappeared in June 12, 1978, at the age of 22, after dropping her children off at a day care centre. She was forced to help train

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n spy

Kim Hyon Hui Kim Hyon-hui ( ko, 김현희, born 27 January 1962), also known as Ok Hwa, is a North Korean former agent, responsible for the Korean Air Flight 858 bombing in 1987, which killed 115 people. She was arrested in Bahrain following the bombing a ...

, the surviving bomber of

Korean Air Flight 858 Korean Air Flight 858 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Baghdad, Iraq, and Seoul, South Korea. On 29 November 1987, the aircraft flying that route exploded in mid-air upon the detonation of a bomb planted inside an overhead ...

.Suspected Abduction Cases by North Korea "Lee Un Hae" Case
National Police Agency
警察庁 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 () in North Korea. Kim said Taguchi often wept when telling her how much she missed her children. Her fate in North Korea is unknown, but the Japanese government believed that Taguchi may still have been alive in 2000 and 2009.

Children's life in Japan

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. When they were adults, Shigeo told them that they were Taguchi's children.

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

Feb 22, 2009 Her son, an engineer at an information technology company in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, 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 The Yokota family, husband Shigeru (November 14, 1932 – June 5, 2020) and wife Sakie (born February 4, 1936) along with their twin sons Takuya and Tetsuya founded the Japanese National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North K ...

. In 2008, Taguchi's son Koichiro Izuka said: In March 2009,

met Yaeko Taguchi's son Koichiro Izuka in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, 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.". 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 Pyeong-an Province (, ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Pyeong'an was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyeongyang (now Pyongyang, North Korea). History Pyeong'an Province was formed in ...

Province; this group may have included Taguchi,

Megumi Yokota (born 5 October 1964) is a Japanese citizen who was abducted by a North Korean agent in 1977 when she was a thirteen-year-old junior high school student. She was one of at least seventeen Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1 ...

, and Tadaaki Hara. In 2014 Taguchi's brother, too, testified about her kidnapping.

In media and culture

Taguchi was played by

Mayumi Sada is a Japanese model and actress. Her maternal grandfather is an American. Early life Sada begin modeling when she was three years old. Career In 1998, she became an exclusive model for the fashion magazine '' Vivi''. In 2001, Sada released ...

in the 2006 NTV television film ''

Saikai ~Yokota Megumi-san no Negai~ (born 5 October 1964) is a Japanese citizen who was abducted by a North Korean agent in 1977 when she was a thirteen-year-old junior high school student. She was one of at least seventeen Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1 ...

''. A Japanese documentary about Kim Hyun-hui's life featured her meeting Yaeko and how she sings lullabies to her children. 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

's lives in North Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taguchi, Yaeko 1955 births 1970s missing person cases Kidnapped Japanese people Missing person cases in Japan North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens People of Shōwa-period Japan Living people

Abduction

Children's life in Japan

In media and culture

See also

References