Japanese

"The Japanese became hostage in Iraq"

Three Japanese became hostages in Iraq. First of all, I am glad that those three persons have been released safely. In this Japanese hostage incident, criticism, which asks three persons' accountability, was arisen all over Japan. Attention of overseas media was also attracted, and their reports are generally critical to the Japanese government and public opinion as represented by the cut-and-dried opinion of the Le Monde paper of France," it being a custom of Japan that regret have to be shown for what disturbed social order". However, these reports have not told the fact correctly. First of all, public opinion of Japan did not deny the activities that have performed by those 3 persons in Iraq so far. The main causes, which created criticism, was that the families of those three hostages had aligned with the opinion of the criminal group which requested withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces and continued criticizing Japanese government who refused withdrawal without reviewing their responsibility of having seen out three persons to Iraq in spite of the repeated evacuation advice made by the government. Also for the posture of the support organization who seemed to try to use this incident as a place for claiming their political belief that the Self-Defense Forces should withdraw. While the maintenance of security policy of the U.S. has been collapsed because of the negative facts, such as the abuse of the Iraqi prisoner, background and pros and cons of the judgment of Japanese government of dispatching the Self-Defense Forces have to be called into question also in Japan.
However, the activities, which the Self-Defense Forces are performing in Iraq, are purely revival support activities for the Iraqi people and that makes a clear departure from the activity of the U.S., which is going to perform security duty with military power. If that is right, the judgment whether activity of the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq is required or not have to be made by Iraqi citizen who is supposed to receive benefit by them and Japan should not yield to the expectation of some terrorists who demanded withdrawal of The Self-Defense Forces as one of the means of the mere threat to the U.S. It will be asked about the posture of Japanese against terrorism by this hostage incident. In other words, national interest of Japan has been taken hostage by this incident and this criticism was made to the irresponsibility, which does not recognize the importance of the result caused in spite of building such a situation. (end)