Japanese press focus on wife and not Jenkins

Lance Martin/Herald Senior Staff Writer

WELDON - It is not so much Charles Jenkins who is the target of all the Japanese media attention as much as it is his wife, Hitomi Soga, reporters and television producers said Tuesday.

Japanese print and broadcast journalists descended on Sycamore Street in Weldon where Jenkins, along with his wife and two daughters, met his mother and sister at his sister's house. It was the first time his mother has seen him in 40 years.

The Japanese media's interest in the story was made evident when a red van carrying Jenkins, his wife and their two daughters, along with some of Jenkins's North Carolina family, pulled into the driveway at his sister's Weldon home.

Cameramen rushed to the sidewalk and print and broadcast reporters yelled questions as the family made their way up the side steps of the two-story brick house.

When it asked if he was glad to be back in North Carolina, Jenkins, a Rich Square native, responded, "Of course." A reporter than asked how it felt, and Jenkins said "very good." In a brief press conference later, he thanked the press, especially those who traveled from Japan, for coming. Some Japanese journalists came from bureaus in Washington, D.C. and New York, while others came from overseas.

Gessho Kobayashi, staff writer for The Yomiuri Shimbun in Tokyo, said his country's press is more interested in the U.S. Army deserter's wife, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1978 and allowed to return home in 2002.

"She's kind of a symbol in Japan," he said, "a heroine. Kidnapping is a problem, a big problem. She's kind of a symbol."

Kobayashi admitted, however, that Japanese press are interested in Soga's family, including her husband and daughters.

And on Tuesday the Japanese media was there to watch as a country's heroine came to her husband's home state to meet his American family. "This is a big meeting for them," Kobayashi said.

The Jenkins saga adds another aspect to the story, Kobayashi said. In 1965, Jenkins disappeared while on patrol along the Demilitarized Zone that splits North and South Korea. During his court-martial, he said he deserted because he was afraid of being sent to Vietnam. He was sentenced to 30 days in a U.S. military jail earlier this year for desertion and aiding the enemy. He served 25.

"We don't (dwell) on those things as much as you do," Kobayashi said explaining the Japanese media's approach. It is a complicated issue in Japan. "We do care about them. We feel a sympathy for them."

Tuesday's family reunion was not a final chapter in the story, Kobayashi said, but a part of it. "This is pretty big when Jenkins wanted to see his mom." From here, Kobayashi said the press wants to examine how the family will live when they get back to Sado-City. "This is a big step."

Yuki Kaneshige, producer for TBS International's New York News Bureau, said the story hinges mainly on Soga. "People feel very honored for her. She was kidnapped by the Koreans. She fell in love with an American man. They're trying to start living again."

Kentaro Sugino, also a staff writer for The Yomiuri Shimbun, reports from the Sado bureau, where Jenkins and Soga live. Sugino said to him the story is about Soga. "Because she was kidnapped in 1978 and came back three years ago. It just so happened he's her husband. They were apart for two years. Now we're seeing them getting their lives back."

For Sugino, the story is about over. While in North Carolina, he plans to talk to the people who knew Jenkins, hopefully some of his old friends. "The story is kind of over. This is kind of the last chapter."