It has been two weeks since four Japanese mining engineers were abducted in the central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The four men are among the dozen hostages being held by Islamic guerrillas. As things stand, it is not clear when, or even whether, a reasonable solution will be found, although the Muslim gunmen have demanded that official negotiations for the release of the hostages begin immediately.

The Japanese government must make every diplomatic effort to secure the safe return home of the four engineers. The question that lingers is why they could not stop working and leave the area before the incident occurred. All four had been dispatched to southern Kyrgyzstan under a government-funded program to promote cooperation in the development of natural resources. Their job was to study the feasibility of tapping mineral resources, such as gold and copper, in the region.

The project involves complicated arrangements. It comes under the control of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, but it is implemented by the Metal Mining Agency of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency. However, the actual work is done by Overseas Mineral Resources Development Co., an affiliate of the mining agency. One of the four men belongs to that agency, and the rest are employees of a Mitsui Group mining company.