How Incident Is Handled

Within a week after the gruesome video that militant of Islamic State beheaded a Japanese hostage, questions against handling of the incident by the government of Japan rose up through the discussion in the Diet. Focus is diverging on why Prime Miniser, Shinzo Abe, made a speech of fighting Islamic State in Cairo on January 17^th, while Japan was firmly involved in the coalition against IS. Japan was isolated in collecting information, contradicting boast of its warmongering leader.

It was last August when the government acknowledged the missing of Haruna Yukawa, the first hostage. Along with the decision of airstrike on IS, Japan joined in the list of coalition nations in September 19^th. In the discussion of the Diet, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, revealed that he realized that the second hostage, Kenji Goto, was captured on December 3^rd, when Goto’s wife reported the government of an e-mail from IS. Without any progress in rescuing effort for those two hostages, the government found video of two hostages uploaded on the web on January 20^th.

Main message of IS through the video was hostility against Japan, which pledged support on countries fighting IS. It was highly possible that IS recognized Japan as a prominent enemy in the coalition that was exercising airstrike. The explanation of Japanese government that Japan was not involved in the airstrike but in only humanitarian support, was irrelevant, because the list of coalition nations did not distinguish humanitarian supporters from military contributors. It might be natural that IS targeted Japan.

It was worth surprising that the Japanese government could not determine IS as the kidnapper until January 20^th. There is no trace that National Security Council discussed that issue at the meeting on January 9^th. The government also did not increase the member of local headquarters in Amman, Jordan, until January 20^th. Advice of a Prime Minister’s advisor to settle the headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey, was dismissed.

Amazingly enough, the government asked an Islamic Scholar, Ko Nakata, send message to IS, which stressed Japan’s humanitarian support, according to Tokyo Shimbun. Nakata did not accept that offer, because the message seemed to be no answer to the demand of ransom. After that, Nakata halted communication with IS, receiving advice from IS to retreat, which indicated skepticism of IS to Nakata. The government of Japan lost one of the very few possibilities to have direct connection with IS.

As a result, Japan depended on Jordan in negotiating with IS, which raised the stake high by connecting Japanese hostage issue with captured Jordanian pilot. “I am responsible for the result,” told Abe. How is he taking it?