Editorials Dec 20, 2015
Islamic State and other radicals must be confronted, contained and destroyed, and how modern societies go about this effort will determine its success or failure.
National Nov 15, 2015
For father of slain Yukawa, closure remains elusive after killing of 'Jihadi John'
by Teppei Kasai
The apparent death of the man known as "Jihadi John," the public face of the self-styled Islamic State, may represent a kind of karma but it doesn't bring closure for the father of one Japanese hostage beheaded nearly a year ago. "It's not to say ...
National May 27, 2015
Passport confiscation policy should remain in place: Foreign Ministry
by Masaaki Kameda
The government should maintain its policy of confiscating passports of Japanese nationals seeking to enter a foreign country or area controlled by extremists if it would put their life at risk, according to a new Foreign Ministry report. In light of the hostage crisis earlier ...
National Apr 8, 2015
A Syrian man held in northern Syria by the Islamic State group has said he was with the two Japanese hostages killed by the militants and delivered food to them in a cell for foreign captives. In an interview, the 45-year-old man, who declined to ...
Editorials Feb 24, 2015
The Abe administration's management of the Islamic State hostage crisis must be investigated in an objective manner to provide lessons that will help guide the government in future crises.
National Feb 22, 2015
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah said Saturday during a visit to Japan that Qatar's government tried to mediate the release of Japanese hostages before they were killed by the Islamic State group. In an interview with Kyodo News, al-Attiyah said, "The Japanese government ...
National Feb 13, 2015
Islamic State magazine says hostage crisis was meant to 'humiliate' Japan
The Islamic State militant group said in its English-language magazine published Thursday that the recent hostage crisis involving two Japanese men was aimed at shaming Japan after the country pledged aid for countries fighting the group. In the group's online publication Dabiq, the group said ...
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Feb 11, 2015
A search for meaning in the arc of Goto’s life and the horror of his death
by Nicolas Gattig
The frenzy of the hostage crisis and the visceral terror of the Islamic State group's executions have for a moment ushered Syria into Japanese youth's sphere of concern.
National Feb 9, 2015
At hostage crisis peak, Tokyo balked at opening channel with Islamic State: radical scholar
Japan opened a communication channel with Islamic State in the decisive stages of the recent hostage crisis but was unwilling to use it to start negotiations, according to a Tokyo-based Islamic scholar who served briefly as an intermediary.
National Feb 9, 2015
Goto, Yukawa mourned in spontaneous gatherings nationwide
by Yoshiaki Miura
People gathered at dusk Sunday at a number of locations nationwide to mourn the deaths of Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, two hostages of the Islamic State group whom the militants apparently murdered last month. Near the statue of Hachiko outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, ...
National Feb 7, 2015
Japan must improve intel so firms can prosper: NSA official-turned-CEO
by Shusuke Murai
A former U.S. National Security Agency official says Japan needs a better intelligence-gathering apparatus not just to respond to terrorism but to protect Japanese companies as well.
World Feb 7, 2015
Islamic State punishes cleric who objected to pilot's fiery death
An Islamic State cleric who objected to the group's decision to burn to death a captive Jordanian pilot has been removed from his post and will be put on trial, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. The cleric, a Saudi national, had ...