Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State

One of the two Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has reportedly been killed. IS posted a new video clip on the internet on Saturday, a day after the 72-hour deadline passed for a $200m ransom that was demanded by IS to release the two Japanese hostages. The video shows an image of Kenji Goto, a 47-year-old freelance journalist, holding a photo of decapitated head and body of the other hostage, HarunaYukawa. A voice claiming to be Goto said Yukawa has been killed. He also said that the militants are no longer seeking a ransom but the release of a female prisoner held in Jordan for the safety of Goto. Yukawa is a military maniac and runs a private military company. He travelled to Syria on business, captured by IS and disappeared in Syria last August.

I heard the audio from the video clip in a Japanese news program. Goto spoke in English slowly and clearly. His voice was amazingly firm and steady for a person in the custody of a terrorist group and under the threat of death. Goto’s mother, Junko Ishido, spoke at a press conference on Friday. She appealed tearfully that Goto was working for the children in the area on humanitarian grounds and is not a part of any military acts. I sincerely hope Goto to be rescued by some means or other.

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe seems to be using this case as an opportunity to get closer the other great powers. Rather than taking actions to rescue the hostages, he has been appealing to the world that Japan fights against the terrorists together with the US and the other countries. Abe says repeatedly that Japan is now a target of terrorist attacks but we do not give in to terrorism. Because of the Japanese constitution prohibiting any military act as a means to settle disputes, Japan cannot be a part of any military intervention lead by the US or the UN. Abe has been in a dilemma since he took the administration that Japan cannot be a US military alliance. It is criticized that Abe’s performance may make Goto’s situation worse.

It is naturally a country’s responsibility to protect the citizens, and that the government should do everything possible to save the hostage’s life. In Japan, however, there is a debate about the two men’s “self-responsibility” of going to the area of conflict. Some people claim that the two men should take the consequences themselves because they went to the dangerous area at “their own risk”. Those people say that the Japanese government should not spend tax payers’ money on rescuing the reckless men. Although this debate is rather extreme, their thoughts originally come from Japanese morality derived from Confucianism. Japanese people are taught not to cause a trouble to the others, and we believe it is a sin to create disorder in the community. Japan, unlike the US or the other countries, does not have real armed forces, a good intelligence organization, or political negotiation power. We are not protected in the same way as an American journalist and we are more vulnerable to military threats. Once anyone is taken as hostage in the area of conflict, one person’s life has a great impact on the country’s political situation. I am concerned if more Japanese people follow suit and cause an unnecessary trouble to the country as well as to the sensitive regional situation.