Two of the three Japanese hostages recently released in Iraq have stunned Japan by announcing their intention to remain in Iraq, despite the obvious hazards. French news agency AFP reports that

volunteer worker Nahoko Takato, 34, said on the Arab satellite television station Al—Jazeera that she wanted to continue her volunteer work in Iraq (news — web sites), prompting disbelief and exasperation among relatives and politicians.

Another released hostage, photojournalist Soichiro Koriyama, 32, told his family he wished to stay to document the war—torn nation, relatives told reporters.

"I will continue (my work in Iraq)," Takato said in an interview conducted shortly after she was released.
Takato went to Iraq as an unaffiliated volunteer, distributing medicines to Iraqi people and helping street children.
"(The kidnappers) did things to me that I did not like. But I cannot hate the Iraqi people," she said, wiping away tears.

In the same Al—Jazeera footage, released in Japan on Friday, Koriyama was seen smiling, snapping photos of Takato and the other released hostage Noriaki Imai, 18, and telling them: "My job is to shoot (pictures)."

In an April 9th article on Japan's response to the hostage—taking, I noted that some observers expressed skepticism, believing that the hostage—taking might be a hoax, since all three of the putative victims were from the anti—war activist camp. The youngest among them, recent high school graduate Noriaki Imai, 18, proclaimed his intention to go to Iraq to investigate the so—called radiation hazards of depleted uranium artillery shells, a threat which has been thoroughly debunked.

Their behavior upon release reinforces the argument that they may have been merely posing as hostages. Not only do they seem to have no fear of a future ordeal, they are also behaving very rudely toward the Japanese government, according to traditional standards of Japanese behavior. AFP notes:

"So many government staff worked so hard without sleep, without eating, and they are saying such things? They need to become aware," about the work of others, a visibly irritated Koizumi said.

Trade minister Shoichi Nakagawa also reacted angrily.

"Please go if you like. But if anything happens, it is your own responsibility," he said using a press conference to send his message to the former hostages.

Japanese culture stresses the concept of obligation towards those whose efforts have been expended on your behalf, as is evident in the comments of the government officials. If the threat experienced by the hostages had been genuine, it is likely that their gratitude and sense of obligation would require them to return to Japan, to thank those who were so inconvenienced by their situation, and who worked so hard for their release.

It is also suspicious that, in the face of the Japanese government's open defiance of their demands, the kidnappers would meekly release genuinely—kidnapped hostages. In order to preserve their own face, the kidnappers would have had to punish the intransigence of Prime Minister Koizumi's government. Doing so would have inflicted political damage on him, and would have certainly made other Japanese in Iraq fearful, prompting further demands for removal of Japan's troops.

Of course, all the evidence is not yet in. They may be foolish, not duplicitous. The hostages have reportedly departed Iraq for Dubai, in one of three aircraft dispatched by Japan, to meet with Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa, Japan's top career diplomat, who interrupted his own busy schedule to make himself available for the crisis.

I hope and trust that the Japanese government will thoroughly interrogate the three hostages, and evaluate their stories with an appropriate degree of skepticism. Many millions of dollars have been expended in efforts to deal with the crisis. If it was indeed a hoax, I hope that legal recourse exists for Japan to recover damages and adequately punish them.

If the kidnapping was indeed genuine, then I can only hope that these foolish young leftists wise up before they are killed.

Posted by Thomas  04 16 04