As Democrat Joe Biden, who is likely to become the next U.S. president, has a wealth of political experience such as serving as vice president under former President Barack Obama, families of people abducted by North Korea and environmental groups in Japan have expressed their hopes toward resolving global issues.
-- Resolution on abductees
Biden has shown a stance that he will not agree to dialogue with North Korea unless the country agrees to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and other outstanding issues. People whose family members were abducted by North Korea called for an early resolution of the abduction issue.
"It was great that [U.S. President Donald] Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and discussed the abduction issue," said Yasushi Chimura, 65, one of the abductees who returned to Japan. "I hope Biden will continue to tackle the abduction issue."
Akihiro Arimoto, 92, whose daughter, Keiko, was abducted when she was 23, was wary.
"As Biden doesn't seem to have specifics on foreign policy, I'm concerned about how committed he will be to resolving the abduction issue," he said, adding, "I hope the issue will get close to a resolution as much as possible while I'm alive."
-- Tackling climate concerns
Measures taken by the Trump administration are likely to be reviewed in the new U.S. administration.
"I wholeheartedly welcome Biden's election victory as we're facing challenges from a serious climate crisis," Mie Asaoka, 73, president of environmental nonprofit organization Kiko Network, said in a statement.
Biden has vowed to bring the United States back to the Paris Agreement, an international framework to combat climate change from which Washington withdrew on Wednesday.
"If the United States returns to a stance in favor of international cooperation, Japan should be able to come up with measures more aggressively," Asaoka said. "I hope Biden will take the lead in promoting a shift to renewable energy."
-- In Obama's footsteps?
Biden was vice president for eight years under Obama, who called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this stance in 2009. In May 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima.
"This is good news for A-bomb survivors," said Shigeaki Mori, 83, an atomic bomb survivor and historian who embraced Obama in Hiroshima. "I hope that Biden will also visit a bombed area and convey a message of peace to pave the way for the abolition of nuclear weapons as a world leader."
"He might push for nuclear disarmament," said Masao Tomonaga, 77, president of the Nagasaki Prefecture Hibakusha Association. "I also hope he will advance nuclear negotiations with North Korea that have been stalled."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
