Koizumi, 43, the U.S.-educated heir to a prominent ... was looking forward to working with the next Japanese leader. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has faced political backlash for ...

Efforts over the years initially spearhead by his late father, Shigeru Yokota, to force the issue bore little fruit until Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a landmark visit to North Korea in ...