Government officials tried to play down allegations Wednesday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has prolonged the crisis over three Japanese being held hostage in Iraq by calling their captors "terrorists."
The kidnappers apparently decided against freeing the three civilians after Koizumi said Friday that Japan would not yield to "terrorists," Sheikh Abdel Sala Al-Kubaissi of the Islamic Clerics Association said Tuesday in Iraq. The sheikh's statement was widely reported Wednesday by Japanese media.
"I know of the reports, but I'd like you to consider whether discussing the matter is positive for realizing the hostages' release," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.