While the Japanese government may be serious about resolving the issue of North Korea’s abductions of its citizens, an expert says the public may be asking for more than it can deliver.

For one thing, though Shinzo Abe campaigned on a resolution to the defectors issue in 2012 prior to his election as prime minister, North Korea ranks far down his list of priorities.

“First, it’s important to realize that Abe’s number one priority is the economy,” Gordon Flake of the Mansfield Foundation told NK News. “Inasmuch as he has time for foreign policy issues at all, he’s very focused