An extraordinary new Japanese book illuminates the story of the Japanese abducted by North Korea, telling the stories of the victims and their families in impressive detail and taking to task successive Japanese administrations for choosing publicity stunts over diplomacy.

Over 250 pages, “Solving the Issue of North Korea's Abductions: What Is the Key to Breaking the Impasse?” (北朝鮮拉致問題の解決：融着を破る鍵とは何か) reviews how Pyongyang’s admitting to the crimes derailed negotiations with Tokyo on normalizing relations, while setting forth the argument that talks are the only path to break the impasse.