By Charles Scanlon BBC Tokyo correspondent

I asked about the circumstances of the kidnapping. He said let's not talk about it now

Brother of Toru Hasuike

Five Japanese plucked from beaches by North Korean agents 24 years ago were finally back on Japanese soil.

Family members were at the airport with flowers and banners to welcome them as they emerged from a government-chartered airliner at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

There were some smiles and many tears as they embraced.

The five are the only known survivors of the 13 Japanese North Korea has admitted kidnapping.

They have been allowed home after an extraordinary confession and apology from North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last month.

Tight-lipped

But it is only a temporary visit. They will return to North Korea in ten days. They have had to leave their children behind in Pyongyang - most Japanese see them as hostages.

Reunion scenes were emotional

At a news conference they gave little away. They stood up one by one - and made the very briefest of statements.

In some cases the Japanese was stilted - rusty from lack of use.

There were no insights into their lives in North Korea - no tales of the ordeals they had suffered.

They were abducted to teach North Korean spies how to pass themselves off as Japanese - highly dangerous work that they were lucky to survive.

One of the relatives, Toru Hasuike said his brother was not forthcoming in private either.

"I was very direct with him and asked about the circumstances of the kidnapping. He said let's not talk about it now."

In the summer of 1978 Kaoru Hasuike was a 20-year-old university student.

Megumi Yokota is said to have committed suicide
	Japan's missing Eight Japanese said to be dead Five still alive in North Korea Kim Jong-il says he has punished the culprits See also: Profiles of the missing

He was back for a holiday at the family home on the north-west coast - he went out for a walk with his girlfriend, Yukiko Okudo, when they stumbled on North Korean agents.

Two-hundred kilometres down the coast that same summer - another couple went out for an evening stroll.

Yasushi Chimura and Fukie Hamamoto were attacked from behind, tied up and bundled into sacks. They also married in North Korea.

The fifth survivor is Hitomi Soga. She was out walking with her mother, who is still missing presumed dead.

For the parents of the eight others who were kidnapped and who died in North Korea the torment continues. They were also at the airport desperate for information.

Negotiating cards

Megumi Yokota was just 13 when she was kidnapped on her way home from school.

North Korea says she committed suicide 10 years ago. Her mother Sakie Yokota does not know what to think.

The five looked thin but well

"We can't believe what we've been told by the North Koreans. Even the photograph they sent of Megumi looks unnatural as if it's been retouched. We want to find out what happened from those who've come back."

Japan is insisting that all the families be allowed home permanently - and it wants a convincing explanation as to how eight of those kidnapped had died.

Mr Koizumi says he still wants negotiations with the North Koreans - talks that could result in diplomatic relations and substantial economic aid.

That is the goal for North Korea and it seems content to use the abducted people as a negotiating card until it gets what it wants.