Posted on 04/08/2004 8:48:26 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Discovered, just now, on the internet in Japanese, and translated by Freeper AmericanInTokyo. This is the last e-mail dispatch (yesterday) in Japanese by Mr. Imai, who is reported to have been taken hostage and threatened with death by terrorists in Iraq, along with (2) other young Japanese.
The writings are on a Japanese language website that gives strong indication that the kidnapped Mr. Noriaki Imai was connected to an anti-American, pro-peace activist group in Japan, with activities centering on "DU" (depleted uranium) and the US mission in Iraq. To readers in Japan, he makes reference to his dangerous travel yesterday from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad, along with another Japanese who is also listed as a kidnap victim. It is now reported he and the other two Japanese never made it to Baghdad, and have been given three days to live by Islamofascist terrorists.
The Japanese website of the kidnapped Japanese Mr. Imai is: http://www.nodu-hiroshima.org/
Further, he writes in his e mail (yesterday) that he his being accompanied by Miss Nahoko Takahashi (who has also been captured and threatened with death). One can conclude that either the hostages were sympathetic to the enemy but are being used by them, or there is perhaps a conspiracy by the hostages to get Japan to withdraw from Iraq (since that was the intent of the political homepage, in Japanese, of Mr. Imai and his associates) URL:
Text:
E mail from Imai-san, on Wednesday, April 7, at around 3:00 a.m. This is Imai. I am sending this to various people. I had intended to depart around 6:00 a.m., but now it is 10:00 a.m. and I am leaving. Well, there is a lot of concern about the safety of the situation, but in another sense there are also no concerns about safety, so I am just leaving it up to fate, as it were.
I met a free cameraman at the Cliff (spelling) Hotel, and got along well with that person. He said he is going to Baghdad by chance, both both Ms. Takahashi (note: also a hostage) and he and I will go down there together. I also met, per chance, Ms. Noriko Morisawa at the Cliff Hotel. I talked a lot with her until just now. I also learned that ( also a journalist) Ms. Mizue Furuya is also here in Amman, so I have become a little more happy.
At any rate, tomorrow (it will be near midnight in Japan), I think we will reach Baghdad. After that, we can go with the JVCs Hara-san to Mansour Hospital as well as Central Hospital. At any rate, it looks like I can move around with Hara in Baghdad for the time being.
Regarding photograph(s), it is difficult to say if I can get photos in Baghdad because of the chaotic situation ,but I did get photos in Amman.
I dont think I can send another email from Amman, but I should be able to send from Baghdad next time. Of course, I hope it will be easy, but the situation has considerably worsened from yesterday, so I am a bit concerned.
At any rate, I want to pray for the fate of both Takahashi-san and the free cameraman we are with. From, a little nervous Imai. (Note: Imai is with Ms. Takahashi. And you can access her website from Iraq at http://www.clubwee.com/bbs2/light.cgi
But at any rate, it is leaking out now that one of the Japanese hostages (the female NGO worker) Ms. Takato is now reported to have MADE CONTACT EARLIER IN BAGHDAD WITH AN AFFILIATED ANTI-US IRAQI TERRORIST GROUP CALLED "ARMY OF MOHAMMED". This is being carried in the Middle East press. The terrorist organization is said to be affiliated with the group that is new (one month old) in Fallujah, that claimed responsibility for "kidnapping" the Japanese the other day. Stinks to high heaven.
Further, the Yahoo Japan chat board on this topic (yahoo.co.jp) in Japanese is burning up at this moment. About one post every 30 seconds. And it would seem about 2 in 3 Japanese posters are saying things like "it's a set up!", and "something stinks", "Koizumi should not meet with these jerks when they get back to Japan" and "arrest the three when they arrive back in Japan for interfering in Japan's foreign policy" and "take their passports away and forbid them from international travel for three years because they are leftist troublemakers", and other posts questioning their leftist affiliations and their mysterious "kidnapping." There is a lot of speculation out there. (10:25 pm Eastern Time)
Understandably. I left out a word. It should have read, "you're NOT the only one wondering".
The site I referenced is run by an Iraqi dentist who is, at the moment, in the neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad. So, the questioning of the legitimacy of this whole thing seems pretty widespread.
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