Two More Japanese Reported Taken Hostage in Iraq (Breaking)

Kyodo News (in Japanese) ^ | 14 April 2004 | Kyodo News (in Japanese)

[AmericanInTokyo]

Breaking - in Japanese...Kyodo News. Reports that two more Japanese may well have been taken hostage by terrorists in Iraq.

Reported to have happened to a person named "Yasuda Junpei" and a person named "Watanabe".

Said they were NGO (non governmental organization) employees in Iraq. Appears to be, if true, that one is Junpei Yasuda, a Japanese photojournalist.

Reports were that two of them were near the site of a downed US helicopter. After taking some photos, it was reported their vehicle was stopped. An email claiming they are in enemy custody has just come in. Local eyewitness in the area just outside of Baghdad, was an Iraqi NGO who was with them. Said they were taken on the 13th local time. Reports of this came in to Japan today at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Here we go again. I guess since the kidnapping of the other three last week has so paralyzed Japan as a nation in their national psyche and 24 news coverage, that the bad guys realized where both the money and the biggest PR bang for their buck lies. What a shame, if true.

No Japanese is safe in Iraq at this rate.

Thanks to all the knuckleheaded liberals in the streets of Tokyo chanting for SDF withdrawl, and round-the-clock Japanese coverage of this situation, to the exclusion of anything else.

[bored at work]

Did the other ones ever fry. I never heard. . .

[AmericanInTokyo]

Just got a photo of Junpei Yasuda in action. he is one of these people on the roof of a hotel in Baghdad taking photos. darned dangerous stuff if you ask me.

[shamusotoole]

The other three offered themselves as hostages. How about these two?

[bored at work]

darned dangerous stuff if you ask me

insane if you ask me. potential for a kidnapping at any given moment. they know that yet they stay!

[AmericanInTokyo]

There is a report that this may be the web page of one of the newest Japanese taken. Watanabe. A photo journalist for Mainchi News. Has been to all kinds of wars for photo purposes. Here's his site, in Japanese:

http://www.tv-asianews.com/watanabe.html

[AmericanInTokyo]

believe me, i can guess what they are going through, from personal experience. but there is a time when you pull the plug and say, 'that's it...i'm gettin' out of here'. Some push over that point and into abyss, though, unfortunately

[AmericanInTokyo]

The intia (Japanese) three from last week: Takato, Imai and Koyama, are still unaccounted for, days after the 'deadline'. The japanese language chat boards fill up with the sentiment it is staged. However, the US media cannot bring themselves to even insert one single line in their reporting about this possibility. Japanese media on TV is starting to deal with that theory.

[BossLady]

"the kidnapping of the other three last week has so paralyzed Japan "

These Iraqi thugs are looking for a reaction.....and the Japanese (and Americans) are delivering....

(I suspect that the 800 Russians leaving Iraq means 1 of two things: 1 - They are weenies or 2- They were told to leave by the US because something big is about to happen)

[AmericanInTokyo]

One Japanese poster on a Tokyo website is, at this moment, referring to Nakata, one of the new Japanese "hostages" (two additional from today), as having been an anti-US Japanese "HUMAN SHIELD" previously in Iraq.

[BossLady]

Holy Merde! Now THAT is an interesting turn of events....

Keep me updated!!! ;)

[lonevoice]

Wow! If that's confirmed it's a bombshell. Unfortunately, it would be one that no one would report.

[shamusotoole]

My question hasw been answered, resoundingly!

[monday]

"I suspect that the 800 Russians leaving Iraq means 1 of two things: 1 - They are weenies or 2- They were told to leave by the US because something big is about to happen)"

Why would the US tell the Russians to leave and no one else? Portugal also told it's citizens to leave. I wouldn't call anyone leaving Iraq weenies. Seems to be a pretty sensible thing to do if you ask me. Perhaps if you enjoy being kidnapped and held for ransom you should stay?

[Two-Bits]

Hi, Please take a moment tomorrow and call the President or send an email today to let him know we, the American people back him. all the way. Also, please ask one person to do the same and ask them to ask another, hopefully, God willing, we will flood the switchboard with calls and faxes like they have never seem. This is one way we can take it direct to the President without marching to the White House and were it can not be misled by the media or their silly polls..... Please call or email to: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 E-Mail President George W. Bush: president@whitehouse.gov Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
God Bless you all and for those that have responded already, thank you.

[valkyrieanne]

Agreed. The Russians are not 'weenies.' Actually, there's no reason whatever for civilians to be hanging around Iraq, unless they're military subcontractors or specifically involved in "nation-building" (i.e. Halliburton employees who know what they're getting into.) Sounds like many of these hostages are journalists and grandstanding antiwar activists. Get them out of the country and out of the way.