Lawsuit against Kim in Tokyo court

Those who left North Korea filed a lawsuit against President Kim Jong-un in a Tokyo court. The case was filed on a repatriation scheme to return home. About 90,000 people fled Japan to North Korea between 1959 and 1984 as part of a so-called government kidnapping scheme. The extraordinary case was filed as part of an attempt to hold North Korea accountable for the scheme. Many were involved in the resettlement scheme were ethnic Koreans being sold a vision of the "Fatherland" as "paradise" and some Japanese spouses went with them.

Not only were those of Korean origin but also their Japanese spouse targeted under the scheme. They were fascinated by the wonderful propaganda of paradise on earth. The five involved in the repatriation scheme have since left North Korea. The five filed the case in Tokyo District Court. They demanded $880K each in damages. They allege that it is generally impossible to enjoy human rights in North Korea. They accused North Korea of deceiving themselves with false statements. Japan has also backed the repatriation plan, with the media promoting it as a humanitarian program being implemented for Koreans. 

A Tokyo court has summoned Kim Jong Un as North Korea's head of state due to a lack of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea. Counsel for the petitioners said last month that they did not expect North Korea to accept the Tokyo court order and verdict. However, he said he hoped Japan would hold talks with North Korea. During Tokyo's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, millions of Koreans moved to Japan, either voluntarily or against their will. On the other side, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a weapons exhibition and vowed to build up the isolated country's military.