Japan will dispatch a senior official to Iran to seek a resolution to the kidnapping of a Japanese college student who was abducted in Iran's southeast, the government's top spokesman said yesterday.
Itsunori Onodera, senior vice-minister for foreign affairs, will visit Iran for three days beginning today to discuss the abduction of Satoshi Nakamura, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.
Nakamura, 23, is believed to have been abducted on Oct. 7 by a regional drug-smuggling group, which demanded the release of detained members in exchange for Nakamura's freedom.
It would be Onodera's third trip to the country to discuss the case, but there has been little progress.
Machimura declined to comment on Nakamura's current condition.
Japanese media reported yesterday that an Iranian foreign ministry official said Nakamura telephoned his parents several days ago and that Nakamura is believed to be in captivity in Pakistan.
Machimura said he was aware of the reports but refused to comment.
Japanese officials have said that Nakamura had been on holiday alone in Iran when he was abducted. His capture was the latest in a series of kidnappings in the country's lawless southeast this year.
Bandits kidnapped 12 Iranians in August. Security forces from Pakistan freed the hostages after clashing with the gunmen.
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