Japanese press in shock over hostages

Japanese troops are in Iraq for reconstruction

"Despicable" is the overriding press reaction to the kidnap of three Japanese civilians in Iraq.

Japan's papers all reflect the shock of the nation, and agree the government should do all it can to secure the hostages' safe release, although several nevertheless urge the government to stand firm in the face of the kidnappers' demands.

"They took defenceless civilians hostage, and issued an unreasonable demand. This is typical of the methods employed by terrorists," says Yomiuri Shimbun.

"We can never succumb to this despicable threat. We must deal with it with a firm attitude."

The paper refers to Japan's "bitter experience" of accepting the demands of the left-wing extremist group, the Japanese Red Army, which released plane passengers taken hostage in 1977 in exchange for money and the release of colleagues from prison.

"We should not repeat that mistake. We cannot succumb to such a thing as the terrorist group's demand for withdrawing the Self-Defence Forces (SDF)," the paper states.

The Sankei Shimbun is similarly emphatic, saying: "We can never give in to the threats of hostage takers."

It calls for national unity in seeking ways to resolve the crisis, adding that now is not the time for the opposition parties to blame the government.

Resentment

The Asahi Shimbun urges the government to make every possible effort to rescue the hostages.

The criminals can never gain the sympathy of the Japanese people and the international community if they commit such a crime as this Nihon Keizai Shimbun

"We feel growing resentment against that despicable act as well as regret that Japan has been targeted by the militant group," it writes.

"We hope that the government will be fully aware that Iraq at this moment is entering a stage in which the SDF cannot concentrate on its reconstruction assistance operations."

Tokyo Shimbun also calls for operational restraint. "It is difficult to resolve issues only by resorting to military means. The Bush administration needs to try to break the deadlock in the situation by exercising its utmost restraint," it says.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun describes the hostage-taking as "an extremely despicable and unforgivable criminal deed".

The paper says the SDF's mission in Iraq is one of humanitarian and reconstruction support. "Thus, the SDF is not doing anything that can be criticised by the Iraqi people."

"The criminals should release all hostages immediately. They can never gain the sympathy of the Japanese people and the international community if they commit such a crime as this."

Call for restraint

Mainichi Shimbun agrees, saying: "The despicable threat will not contribute to the reconstruction and to the restoration of public peace. In addition, the international community will never tolerate it."

The Bush administration needs to try to break the deadlock in the situation by exercising its utmost restraint Tokyo Shimbun

The Okinawa-based Ryukyu Shimpo expresses its strong resentment against this "unforgivable act," and asserts that "top priority should be given to the release of the hostages".

The paper believes the US should understand that the more it is involved in Iraq, the more it will provoke opposition from the Iraqi people. If peace, stability and reconstruction are the priority, the paper writes, "the US and UK forces should at first withdraw from Iraq completely."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.