Foreign Ministry officials in Tokyo were pleasantly surprised Saturday by the news that two Japanese hostages were abruptly freed by their captors in Baghdad.
Their freedom effectively enabled Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to avert the biggest political crisis he has had to face since taking office, because any Japanese casualties in Iraq could deal a heavy blow to the prime minister, who has supported the U.S.-led war against Iraq even though the public is divided over the issue.
Foreign Ministry officials admitted they had few clues as to the whereabouts of the two men -- freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda and nongovernmental organization staffer Nobutaka Watanabe -- up until just minutes before a Japanese Embassy official in Baghdad met the pair at an office of the Islamic Clerics Association.