Japan special envoy hopeful about release of hostage, pilot
A Japanese envoy in Jordan expressed hope that both Japanese hostage Kenji Goto and a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic militants will return home "with a smile on their faces," as criticisms mounted Tuesday over the government's handling of the crisis.
Japan's government spokesman Yoshihide Suga speaks at a press conference in Tokyo Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.
In the Jordanian capital, Amman, Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama seemed determined, saying he believed there were "firm ties" between Japan and Jordan."I hope we can all firmly work hard and join hands to cooperate, and for the two countries (Japan and Jordan) to cooperate, in order for us to see the day when the Jordanian pilot and our Japanese national Mr. Goto, can both safely return to their own countries with a smile on their faces," Nakayama, a lawmaker send to coordinate efforts in Amman to save two Japanese hostages of the Islamic State group, spoke late Monday night.
It was the first mention by a Japanese official of Jordanian pilot 1st Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, who has been held by the extremist Islamic State group after crashing in December. It wasn't clear when the pilot's possible release had entered the picture.
The issue of a prisoner swap is sensitive, given Jordanian concern over the pilot, and Nakayama emerged from the Japanese Embassy on Tuesday with no new updates.
"There are other parties involved, so I don't want to comment on details of the negotiations," he said.
Goto, a journalist, was seized in late October in Syria, apparently while trying to rescue another hostage, 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, who was captured by the militants last summer.
Over the weekend, an unverified video emerged online showing a still photo of Goto, 47, holding what appears to be a photo of the body of Yukawa. It included a recording of a voice claiming to be Goto, saying his captors wanted the release of Sajida al-Rashawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan for involvement in a suicide bombing that killed 60 people.
The message retracted a demand for payment of $200 million in ransom for the two Japanese, made in an earlier online message, and said Yukawa had been killed. It threatened to kill Goto unless al-Rashawi was released.
Japanese officials are treating the video released over the weekend as authentic and thus accepting the likelihood that Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer captured in Syria last summer, was killed.
Securing the release of al-Rashawi would be a major propaganda coup for the Islamic State and would allow the group to reaffirm its links to al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Rashawi fled but was captured after her explosive belt failed to detonate in the attack in Jordan. She pleaded not guilty.
In Japan, some are critical of Goto and Yukawa, an adventurer who had been caught by Islamic extremists once before, for taking such risks. Some also are criticizing Abe, the prime minister, for pursuing a more assertive foreign policy, saying it may have contributed to the crisis.
As parliamentary debate resumed Tuesday, lawmaker Seiji Maehara of the opposition Democratic Party questioned Abe on how the government has handled the hostages' cases since when Yukawa was seized in August.
He noted Abe's explicit mention of the Islamic State in an announcement of $200 million in humanitarian aid to the nations fighting the extremists — something also mentioned in the videos issued by the militants.
Japan has no military role in the conflict, but Abe has been pushing to expand the role for Japan's troops — one that has remained strictly confined to self-defense under the pacifist constitution adopted after the nation's defeat in World War II.
But Abe defended his performance. The $200 million contribution was aimed at "providing food and medicine to save the lives of more than 10 million people, including refugees and children who have lost their homes, shivering in cold and suffering from illnesses."
"Our contribution has won high praises from the international community," he said.
"If we fear the risks so much that we succumb to the terrorists' threats, we won't be able to make any humanitarian contributions to countries surrounding the area of conflict," Abe said. "Our country will never bow to terrorists. We will continue our humanitarian support in our own unique way."
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