Islamic State demands $200 million ransom for two Japanese hostages
A video purportedly from the Islamic State — coinciding with a high-profile trip to the Middle East led by Abe — shows the two men kneeling in the desert dressed in orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by other foreign captives who were later killed.
“You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the $200 million to save the lives of your citizens,” said the masked militant standing between them, speaking in English with a British accent.
Japanese officials declined to discuss whether they would consider paying for the release of the hostages: journalist Kenji Goto Jogo and self-styled military consultant Haruna Yukawa.
But Abe sharply condemned the threats and vowed not to alter Japan’s policies against terrorism.
“To use people’s lives and threaten like this is an unforgivable act of terror, and I feel indignant,” Abe said in Jerusalem, near the end of a six-day visit to the region along with a delegation of about 100 Japanese businessmen and policymakers.
“I strongly demand not to harm the two Japanese citizens and immediately release them,” added Abe, who is scheduled to return to Tokyo on Wednesday.
Hours after the video was posted, Abe canceled several meetings but kept talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on his agenda. Abe also dispatched a senior envoy to Jordan, whose intelligence services keep close watch on the Islamic State, a radical al-Qaeda offshoot also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“We will continue to take all possible measures from a standpoint of respecting human life,” Abe said. “Whatever the case is, the international community adamantly must not give in to terror. We need to cooperate and tackle it.”
On Saturday in Cairo, Abe pledged $200 million in non-military aid for refugees displaced by the rise of the Islamic State, which holds large parts of Iraq and Syria. The money is part of larger humanitarian and development initiatives in the region by Japan, which is a major customer of oil from Iran and the Persian Gulf states.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to say whether Japan would consider paying the ransom.
“If true, the act of threat in exchange of people’s lives is unforgivable, and we feel strong indignation,” Suga told journalists. “We will make our utmost effort to win their release as soon as possible.”
A senior Japanese diplomat quoted by the Associated Press said Japan may have paid money in the past to free captives but declined to give any details.
“Officially, we don’t pay ransoms,” added the diplomat, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly on the issue . “In some incidents in the past we might have paid, but we’d never announce it. I don’t know what will happen now.”
Since it beheaded the American journalist James Foley last August, the Islamic State has killed two other Americans and two Britons. The group also has claimed responsibility for other atrocities, including a video in November that purported to show the beheadings of 18 captured Syrian soldiers.
It’s unclear how many hostages the group holds from Western countries and allies. The authenticity of the latest video, made by the Islamic State’s al-Furqan media wing, was not immediately verified.
But in August, the 42-year-old Yukawa appeared in a video shortly after his capture, being questioned roughly and with blood trickling down his face.
Goto, 47, a well-respected Japanese journalist, was last heard from on Oct. 24. He had told friends he was traveling to Kobane, a flash point town on the Turkish-Syrian border, but it is unclear exactly where he was kidnapped while covering Syria’s multiple conflicts.
Yukawa took a far different path to Syria, where the pair reportedly met and began traveling together.
Yukawa had suffered a series of misfortunes: His wife died of lung cancer, then he went bankrupt and lost his home and his business, the Reuters news agency reported.
He apparently went on a voyage of self-discovery, changing his name to the more feminine Haruna, attempting to kill himself by cutting off his genitals, and claiming to be the reincarnation of a cross-dressing Manchu princess who had spied for Japan in World War II, the news agency reported.
He is believed to have been captured in Marea, about 18 miles north of Aleppo, in August while he was traveling with rebel fighters, Kyodo news agency reported.
In 2013, Yukawa decided to become a security consultant, borrowed some cash and hopped a plane to Syria. He planned to provide consulting services to major Japanese companies in conflict zones. He would start there. “He felt his life had reached its limit,” his 74-year-old father, Shoichi Yukawa, told Newsweek.
In a blog post last summer, Yukawa talked about working with the Free Syrian Army.
“I’m very happy and I too want to quickly meet up with them,” he said. “I want to devote the rest of my life to others and save many people. I want to make my mark on history one more time.”
Although Japan is rarely drawn directly into Middle East conflicts, some Japanese have been taken hostage by the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.
In 2004, followers of Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq beheaded a Japanese backpacker, Shosei Koda, in apparent reprisal for the deployment of Japanese soldiers to do humanitarian work in Iraq. Zarqawi’s faction became the ideological core for the eventual Islamic State.
In early 2013, militants linked to al-Qaeda attacked an Algerian natural gas plant, killing 37 foreigners during a four-day battle, including 10 Japanese who were working for an engineering company.
Anna
Fifield is The Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo, focusing on Japan and the
Koreas. She previously reported for the Financial Times from Washington
DC, Seoul, Sydney, London and from across the Middle East.
Brian
Murphy joined the Post after more than 20 years as a foreign
correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and
the Middle East. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has
written three books.
Yemen's Hadi: President who failed to bring stability
Published on Jan 21, 2015 1:18 AM
Yemen President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi at the presidential palace
in Sanaa, Yemen, in 2013. Hadi, 69, whose palace compound was seized and
residence attacked by Huthi Shi'ite militiamen on Tuesday, has ruled
over Yemen for three turbulent years. His fate amid Tuesday's attack was
not immediately known. -- PHOTO: EPA
SANAA (AFP) - President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, 69, whose palace
compound was seized and residence attacked by Huthi Shi'ite militiamen
on Tuesday, has ruled over Yemen for three turbulent years.
Hadi, who took office in 2012 under a UN- and Gulf-backed peace plan, is a career soldier with no popular or tribal base but who emerged as a consensus figure.
The Huthis seized the palace in Sanaa and attacked his separate residence in what a minister said was a bid to overthrow the President and his US-backed government.
The fate of Hadi, who was reportedly at his residence when it came under fire, was not immediately known but his authority had already been undermined by the Huthis' unopposed takeover of Sanaa in September and Yemen's chronic instability.
Since their advance from their power base north of Sanaa, the Huthis have pressed on into areas south of Sanaa, where they have met deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda loyalists.
Hadi's government has been a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out repeated drone attacks on Al-Qaeda militants in its territory.
Taking over from veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after an almost year-long and often bloody uprising, Hadi pledged to "preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity".
A major-general from restive southern Yemen, Hadi had been vice-president since 1994 and secretary-general of the ruling General People's Congress party.
But he never played a top role in politics before taking over Saleh's powers in June 2011 when the latter was wounded in an attack on his presidential compound.
Hadi also was a crucial player in convincing Saleh to sign the UN-backed transition plan in late 2011.
Born on May 1, 1945, Hadi graduated from a military academy in formerly independent South Yemen and also received military training in Britain and Egypt.
A unified Yemen was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, four years after Hadi had joined the northern camp.
The southerners tried to break away in May 1994, sparking a bloody civil war during which Hadi was appointed defence minister.
He has two daughters and three sons, and has written several books, including one on the military defence of mountain areas.
Hadi, who took office in 2012 under a UN- and Gulf-backed peace plan, is a career soldier with no popular or tribal base but who emerged as a consensus figure.
The Huthis seized the palace in Sanaa and attacked his separate residence in what a minister said was a bid to overthrow the President and his US-backed government.
The fate of Hadi, who was reportedly at his residence when it came under fire, was not immediately known but his authority had already been undermined by the Huthis' unopposed takeover of Sanaa in September and Yemen's chronic instability.
Since their advance from their power base north of Sanaa, the Huthis have pressed on into areas south of Sanaa, where they have met deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda loyalists.
Hadi's government has been a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out repeated drone attacks on Al-Qaeda militants in its territory.
Taking over from veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after an almost year-long and often bloody uprising, Hadi pledged to "preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity".
A major-general from restive southern Yemen, Hadi had been vice-president since 1994 and secretary-general of the ruling General People's Congress party.
But he never played a top role in politics before taking over Saleh's powers in June 2011 when the latter was wounded in an attack on his presidential compound.
Hadi also was a crucial player in convincing Saleh to sign the UN-backed transition plan in late 2011.
Born on May 1, 1945, Hadi graduated from a military academy in formerly independent South Yemen and also received military training in Britain and Egypt.
A unified Yemen was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, four years after Hadi had joined the northern camp.
The southerners tried to break away in May 1994, sparking a bloody civil war during which Hadi was appointed defence minister.
He has two daughters and three sons, and has written several books, including one on the military defence of mountain areas.
Yemen's Hadi: President who failed to bring stability
Published on Jan 21, 2015 1:18 AM
Yemen President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi at the presidential palace
in Sanaa, Yemen, in 2013. Hadi, 69, whose palace compound was seized and
residence attacked by Huthi Shi'ite militiamen on Tuesday, has ruled
over Yemen for three turbulent years. His fate amid Tuesday's attack was
not immediately known. -- PHOTO: EPA
SANAA (AFP) - President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, 69, whose palace
compound was seized and residence attacked by Huthi Shi'ite militiamen
on Tuesday, has ruled over Yemen for three turbulent years.
Hadi, who took office in 2012 under a UN- and Gulf-backed peace plan, is a career soldier with no popular or tribal base but who emerged as a consensus figure.
The Huthis seized the palace in Sanaa and attacked his separate residence in what a minister said was a bid to overthrow the President and his US-backed government.
The fate of Hadi, who was reportedly at his residence when it came under fire, was not immediately known but his authority had already been undermined by the Huthis' unopposed takeover of Sanaa in September and Yemen's chronic instability.
Since their advance from their power base north of Sanaa, the Huthis have pressed on into areas south of Sanaa, where they have met deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda loyalists.
Hadi's government has been a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out repeated drone attacks on Al-Qaeda militants in its territory.
Taking over from veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after an almost year-long and often bloody uprising, Hadi pledged to "preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity".
A major-general from restive southern Yemen, Hadi had been vice-president since 1994 and secretary-general of the ruling General People's Congress party.
But he never played a top role in politics before taking over Saleh's powers in June 2011 when the latter was wounded in an attack on his presidential compound.
Hadi also was a crucial player in convincing Saleh to sign the UN-backed transition plan in late 2011.
Born on May 1, 1945, Hadi graduated from a military academy in formerly independent South Yemen and also received military training in Britain and Egypt.
A unified Yemen was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, four years after Hadi had joined the northern camp.
The southerners tried to break away in May 1994, sparking a bloody civil war during which Hadi was appointed defence minister.
He has two daughters and three sons, and has written several books, including one on the military defence of mountain areas.
Hadi, who took office in 2012 under a UN- and Gulf-backed peace plan, is a career soldier with no popular or tribal base but who emerged as a consensus figure.
The Huthis seized the palace in Sanaa and attacked his separate residence in what a minister said was a bid to overthrow the President and his US-backed government.
The fate of Hadi, who was reportedly at his residence when it came under fire, was not immediately known but his authority had already been undermined by the Huthis' unopposed takeover of Sanaa in September and Yemen's chronic instability.
Since their advance from their power base north of Sanaa, the Huthis have pressed on into areas south of Sanaa, where they have met deadly resistance from Al-Qaeda loyalists.
Hadi's government has been a key ally of the United States, allowing Washington to carry out repeated drone attacks on Al-Qaeda militants in its territory.
Taking over from veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after an almost year-long and often bloody uprising, Hadi pledged to "preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity".
A major-general from restive southern Yemen, Hadi had been vice-president since 1994 and secretary-general of the ruling General People's Congress party.
But he never played a top role in politics before taking over Saleh's powers in June 2011 when the latter was wounded in an attack on his presidential compound.
Hadi also was a crucial player in convincing Saleh to sign the UN-backed transition plan in late 2011.
Born on May 1, 1945, Hadi graduated from a military academy in formerly independent South Yemen and also received military training in Britain and Egypt.
A unified Yemen was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, four years after Hadi had joined the northern camp.
The southerners tried to break away in May 1994, sparking a bloody civil war during which Hadi was appointed defence minister.
He has two daughters and three sons, and has written several books, including one on the military defence of mountain areas.
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