[TIME] While the clock ticks down for two Japanese hostages held by ISIS, their countrymen think they've brought the problem on themselves
Japanese government officials continued to press for the release of two Japanese citizens being held by Islamist bandidos murderous Moslems in Syria late Friday, even as an alleged deadline for paying the $200 million ransom expired.
The hostage drama has dominated the news cycle since ISIS released a video showing two Japanese men being threatened by a masked murderous Moslem with a knife. But in very Japanese fashion, much of the anger has focused on the hostages themselves, who are seen by many as having acted recklessly. "The public thinks these guys put themselves in harm's way, and that it is their problem -- not the government's or the taxpayers problem," says Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Tokyo campus.
Haruna Yukawa, 42, a failed businessman who hoped to re-invent himself as a private military contractor, was kidnapped in August after entering ISIS-controlled territory. Kenji Goto, 47, an experienced freelance journalist, was captured in October after entering Syria in what he told friends was a quest to free Yukawa, whom he had met there earlier.
In the video released Tuesday, the murderous Moslem accuses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of taking sides in the Mideast conflict by pledging $200 million in aid to countries fighting against ISIS, which controls vast territory in both Syria and Iraq. The murderous Moslem said the hostages would be killed if an equal amount was not paid within 72 hours ‐ a deadline that Japanese officials presume expired Friday afternoon.
Abe has stressed that the aid money--which he pledged during a six-day trip to the Middle East that was interrupted by the hostage crisis--is for humanitarian purposes only and said his government is doing all that it can to secure the hostage's release. But he has vowed not to "give in" to terrorists, and most analysts believe he will not authorize payment of the ransom--either openly or otherwise. |