Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed disbelief Friday that two of the three Japanese hostages recently released in Iraq want to return to the country to continue their activities.

"No matter how much goodwill they might have had, how can they say such a thing after a large number of people have made desperate efforts to rescue them?" he asked.

"I'd like them to have a sense of responsibility," a grim-faced Koizumi told reporters.