The hostage crisis in Iraq has apparently split the Japanese public into two camps.
One side supports the government's decision not to withdraw the Self-Defense Force troops from Iraq. It believes the three Japanese hostages got what they deserved because they chose to enter a dangerous zone of their own volition.
The other camp is critical of the government's stance, which it says makes light of human life because Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi immediately rejected any plan to withdraw SDF troops.