Tag - hostage-crisis

 
 

HOSTAGE CRISIS

JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2015
Abe briefing paper rules out strike on Islamic State
The prime minister's office explored the idea of conducting a military strike against the Islamic State group in Syria as the ransom deadline approached.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015
Islamic State to release statement 'soon' on Japanese hostage pair, NHK reports
The Islamic State group will release a statement "soon" on the two Japanese hostages it has captured and is threatening to execute unless a ransom is paid, a spokesman for the armed group told NHK Thursday night.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015
Japanese officials silent as hostage clock ticks
As Tokyo insists it has not 'received any contact' from the Islamic State group, the nation wonders what will happen to the two men it has taken hostage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2015
On the Internet, opinion swings against hostages
As the lives of two Japanese appeared to hang in the balance Thursday, their plight touched off a range of responses on the Internet, with many sniping at them for choosing to go to a war zone and others urging understanding.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Respected journalist Goto aims to tell world of Syrians' suffering
Kenji Goto is among a rare breed of journalists who, while reporting from conflict-ridden Syria, has never regarded himself as a war reporter. Instead, he has tried to capture the voices of ordinary citizens whose fates have been irreversibly changed by war.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2015
Islamic State likely gave hostage ultimatum knowing difficulty of meeting it
The militant group, which aims to establish an Islamic caliphate, is likely using the hostage situation to generate renewed international attention, according to leading analysts.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Islamic State's social media tactics mocked by Japanese Twitter users
The Islamic State group is known for its extensive use of social media.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Japanese Muslims condemn Islamic State threat; some fear damage to Islam's image
Some assailed the threat issued in a video posted online as an “unforgiveable” act of cruelty, and said the hostage-takers were unworthy of calling themselves Muslims.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2015
Latest hostage crisis involving Japanese evokes chilling memories
Japanese citizens were involved in a series of hostage crises in 2004, including one that resulted in the victim being decapitated.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2015
Islamic State threatens to kill two Japanese hostages
In an online video, the Islamic State group threatens to kill two Japanese citizens unless Tokyo pays a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2013
Government finds plenty to criticize in Algerian crisis response
Reviewing its response to the Algerian hostage crisis last month, the government admitted Thursday it doesn't have enough Arabic-speaking diplomats or military attaches in Africa, making it nearly impossible to gather sufficient intelligence.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 10, 2013
Lots of blame, but few solutions to terrorist attacks abroad
On Jan. 16, Islamic militants believed led by the elusive commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar struck a natural-gas processing plant in Ain Amenas, Algeria. In the rescue attempt by units of Algeria's army, as many as 81 people may have died, among which were 10 Japanese employees of JGC Corporation.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2013
Missteps bedevil U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa
The U.S. military was closely tracking a one-eyed bandit across the Sahara in 2003 when it confronted a hard choice that is still reverberating a decade later. Should it try to kill or capture the target, an Algerian jihadist named Moktar Belmoktar, or let him go?

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’