The three Japanese civilian hostages freed Thursday after eight days of captivity in Iraq arrived Sunday in Tokyo, apologizing for causing trouble and expressing gratitude for efforts made to secure their release.
Soichiro Koriyama, 32, a photojournalist from Tokyo, Nahoko Takato, 34, a volunteer aid worker from Chitose, Hokkaido, and Noriaki Imai, 18, a recent high school graduate from Sapporo, arrived at Kansai International Airport from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, just after 5:15 p.m. and then shortly afterward flew on a connecting flight to Tokyo's Haneda airport.
The three were accompanied by two relatives who met them in Dubai on Saturday, and Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa, who had been in Amman to deal with the hostage crisis.