Tag - hostages

 
 

HOSTAGES

JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2015
Hostage crisis over, Abe looks to 2016 to launch constitutional amendment drive
With the Islamic State hostage crisis over, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his long-sought goal of revising the Constitution should be chased in summer 2016.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015
Goto beheaded by Islamic State militants
Despite an unusual lull that had raised hopes hostage Kenji Goto might be freed, many in Japan were shocked Sunday to learn the Islamic State group had apparently executed him.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2015
Crisis awakens Japanese to shortcomings, realities
The hostage crisis that ended so tragically has taught Japan about the reality of life in a strife-filled part of the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2015
Goto gets sunset deadline extension
A new audio message purportedly from hostage Kenji Goto on Thursday morning declared that Jordan must present female prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi at the Turkish border by sunset on Thursday, or Jordanian air force pilot Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh would be executed immediately.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2015
Arab envoys in Japan condemn Islamic State killing of hostage Haruna Yukawa
Arab ambassadors to Japan released a joint statement condemning the murder of Haruna Yukawa by Islamic State militants and urging the immediate release of the group's other Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 27, 2015
DPJ questions Abe's timing of Mideast aid
The opposition camp presses Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over his decision to announce millions of dollars in nonmilitary aid to countries battling the Islamic State group at a time when Japanese citizens were known to be among its captives.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2015
South Koreans react online to Japanese character traits demonstrated in hostage crisis
Internet users in South Korea are reacting to Japan's national character represented by muted anger, masochistic apologies and gratitude for others after the Islamic State group released a video showing what appears to be the corpse of hostage Haruna Yukawa, according to a local media report.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2015
Self-censoring kicks in as hostage drama plays out
As the hostage drama plays out, TV stations are altering schedules and pop idols are changing song lyrics to avoid shocking audiences accidentally.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2015
Hostage crisis puts work of aid groups on nation's public agenda
Groups with a stake in the Islamic State hostage crisis include aid teams who at times have struggled to keep the Syrian refugee crisis on the agenda back home.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2015
Families, acquaintances dismayed by latest video of Japanese hostage
Shock and confusion overwhelms the families and friends of the two Japanese men held captive in Syria by the Islamic State group.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2015
Purported Islamic State video shows hostage Goto claiming Yukawa has been executed
A video posted online shows journalist Kenji Goto holding a picture of what appears to be the body of slain fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa.
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2015
A wake-up call for Japan
The hostage crisis with the Islamic State group should not deter Japan from contributing to the global fight against terrorism in its own, nonmilitary ways.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015
Hostage's mother pleads for his release as Islamic State ransom deadline looms
The distraught mother of a Japanese journalist held captive by the Islamic State group made an eleventh-hour plea for her son's safe release Friday morning.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015
Islamic State to release statement 'soon' on Japanese hostage pair, NHK reports
The Islamic State group will release a statement "soon" on the two Japanese hostages it has captured and is threatening to execute unless a ransom is paid, a spokesman for the armed group told NHK Thursday night.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015
Japanese officials silent as hostage clock ticks
As Tokyo insists it has not 'received any contact' from the Islamic State group, the nation wonders what will happen to the two men it has taken hostage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2015
Abe forced to walk a fine line in oil-rich Middle East
The seizure of two Japanese nationals by the Islamic State militant group is raising questions about Japan's Middle East policies and the effectiveness of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's brand of personal diplomacy.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Respected journalist Goto aims to tell world of Syrians' suffering
Kenji Goto is among a rare breed of journalists who, while reporting from conflict-ridden Syria, has never regarded himself as a war reporter. Instead, he has tried to capture the voices of ordinary citizens whose fates have been irreversibly changed by war.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Islamic State's social media tactics mocked by Japanese Twitter users
The Islamic State group is known for its extensive use of social media.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Japanese Muslims condemn Islamic State threat; some fear damage to Islam's image
Some assailed the threat issued in a video posted online as an “unforgiveable” act of cruelty, and said the hostage-takers were unworthy of calling themselves Muslims.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2015
Latest hostage crisis involving Japanese evokes chilling memories
Japanese citizens were involved in a series of hostage crises in 2004, including one that resulted in the victim being decapitated.

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