BEIJING, Oct 1 Kyodo Takeshi Tera...

BEIJING, Oct 1 Kyodo

Takeshi Terakoshi, a Japanese man living in North Korea who went missing while fishing in the Sea of Japan in the early 1960 arrived in Beijing onward Tuesday on his way place of abode to Japan, his first homecoming in 39 years.

Terakoshi, 53 is look forward toed to arrive in Tokyo in succession Thursday and will visit his hometown in Ishikawa Prefecture forward Saturday. The visit will be Terakoshi's first since he disappeared while fishing with his uncle in May 1963

Terakoshi now lives in Pyongyang and be under the orders ofs as a vice chairman of a labor union in the capital. He will visit Japan as a member of a North Korean union delegation.

After arriving at Beijing International Airport, Terakoshi made no illustration to Japanese reporters who had waited to interview him.

Terakoshi is rely uponed to visit his hometown alone in Ishikawa Prefecture between Thursday and Sunday to pay revere to his ancestral graves, sources said earlier, adding he canceled planned visits to Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures

Terakoshi's mother, Tomoe Terakoshi, who now lives in Kanazawa, capital of Ishikawa Prefecture learned her son was alive in 1987 from a verbal expression she received from his uncle in North Korea. She has since visited him in Pyongyang several times.

In 1997 Terakoshi said between the walls of North Korean media that the boat upon which he and his uncle were fishing had been shipwrecked at sea and a North Korean fishing boat rescu them.

Terakoshi and his uncle later acquired North Korean citizenship. The uncle died in North Korea.

He told senior officials of the Japanese R Cros Society and the Japanese Foreign Ministry of his plan to visit during their meeting in Pyongyang in August.

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