The brother of a Japanese national kidnapped by North Korean agents 47 years ago called for the quick return of the abductees during a rally Saturday in Tokyo.

Yokota Megumi was kidnapped on November 15, 1977, at the age of 13, while returning home from a high school in Niigata City. She turned 60 in October.

Megumi’s younger brother Yokota Takuya, who leads a family abductee group, spoke at a rally focused on the issue of abductions.

Takuya said his parents became disconcerted after his sister’s disappearance, a heavy atmosphere engulfed the family and there was little conversation.

He said his family only remembers Megumi as a 13-year-old girl and can’t imagine what she looks like now at 60. Takuya said he just hopes his sister is doing well.

Referring to last month’s Lower House elections, in which the ruling coalition failed to secure a majority, he said North Korea was likely trying to determine who it would deal with in future negotiations.

Takuya said Japan’s political unrest and stagnation must not delay resolving the kidnapping issue, which constitutes a human rights violation that “puts the lives of our family members at stake.”

Of the parents of the 12 abductees the Japanese government has recognized as still missing, Megumi’s mother Yokota Sakie and Arimoto Akihiro, the father of abductee Arimoto Keiko, are the only ones still alive.

Sakie is 88 years old and Akihiro is 96.

Takuya said after the rally that while both are doing well, his mother fell ill and was hospitalized last year, and their health could deteriorate at any time.

He said he wanted the Japanese government to take the pain and anger of the abductees’ relatives to heart and convey it to North Korean authorities.