The harsh criticism that has been aimed at Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq stems from government resentment over their relatives' calls for Tokyo to withdraw its troops from the country, one of the hostages said Tuesday.
Five Japanese civilians were taken captive in Iraq earlier this month in two incidents -- one involving three hostages and a second involving two.
The kidnappers of the first group threatened to kill them unless Japan pulled its Self-Defense Forces out of southern Iraq.
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