The Abe administration has started examining its handling of the kidnapping of two Japanese and their subsequent murder by the Islamic State extremist group. There is no guarantee that the probe will be sufficiently objective and credible, especially since it will be carried out by officials who were actually involved in the government's unsuccessful efforts to save the two men — Kenji Goto, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, a self-styled security consultant.

The investigation team will be led by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiro Sugita, originally a bureaucrat from the National Police Agency, who was in charge of communication with the liaison office set up in Jordan and coordination among government ministries and agencies concerned after the militant group on Jan. 20 posted on the Internet a video of Goto and Yukawa sitting in orange jumpsuits with a masked man in a black robe wielding a knife between them. The team will include Yasuhiko Nishimura, deputy chief Cabinet secretary for crisis management, Shotaro Yachi, head of the National Security Council's secretariat, and officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the NPA.

Although the team will hear the opinions of outside experts, neither they nor lawmakers will join the team. It is unclear to what extent the third-party experts' opinions will be reflected in the team's report to be compiled in April. Even if the report is issued, the government might censor crucial information by invoking the state secrets law. In addition, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga will not be interviewed by the team.