Aid workers and journalists who ignore government warnings to not travel to dangerous areas should accept responsibility for the consequences, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday.
But the government does not plan to draw up legislation to prohibit people from traveling where they choose, he said during a joint interview with The Japan Times and other newspapers. Members of his Liberal Democratic Party had suggested such a ban on the Japanese populace.
When three Japanese civilians were taken hostage by gunmen earlier this month in Iraq, politicians and media organizations criticized the trio for being reckless and venturing in a dangerous area after being warned not to. After their release April 15, many focused on the money and manpower expended to win the trio's release.
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