Kaoru Hasuike (蓮池 薫, Hasuike Kaoru, born September 29, 1957) is a Japanese citizen who was abducted by North Korean spies along with his girlfriend Yukiko Okudo.
They were abducted from their hometown of Kashiwazaki in Niigata prefecture on July 19, 1978.
Once there, Hasuike and Okudo decided to remain in Japan and to plead for the release of their children, which was eventually allowed in 2004.
[1][2][3] After his escape, Hasuike wrote a book, Abduction and My Decision, about his experiences in North Korea.
In April 2013, Hasuike was appointed Associate Professor of economics at the Kashiwazaki-based Niigata Sangyo University, where he has taught Japanese and Korean languages since 2008.