With a new leader – and Trump in town – Japanese families whose loved ones were abducted by North Korea have fresh hope

For the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents decades ago, this week is perhaps the best shot they’ve had in years of substantive progress.

Not only does Japan have a new prime minister, but US President Donald Trump is in their part of the world, with unfinished business when it comes to the return of their loved ones.

Japan says at least 17 of its citizens were snatched by North Korean agents in the late 1970s and 1980s – alongside hundreds of unexplained cases. Five citizens were returned in 2002; some families are still waiting.

Pyongyang disputes the total number taken and says some died in traffic and drowning accidents, as well as suicide, and it considers the matter over.

Families met with Trump and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday and, while holding photos of their lost family members, asked if he’d put their case to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.