Japan Press Weekly

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2015 February 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

Abe’s thoughtless remarks led to two Japanese killings: JCP Koike

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Koike Akira on February 3 pointed out the possibility that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s remarks made during his visit to Middle Eastern countries brought about the killings of two Japanese nationals by the Islamic State.

In retaliation for Abe’s recent promise to provide about 200 million dollars in aid to the nations fighting against the Islamic State, the militant group beheaded the two Japanese hostages one after the other.

At a House Budget Committee meeting, Koike noted that when Abe expressed his intent to offer the aid in his address in Egypt on January 17, he failed to describe the money as being aimed at humanitarian assistance. Pointing to the fact that as of early December the Japanese government was aware that the two Japanese nationals were detained by the extremist group, Koike questioned whether the prime minister had thought that his statement could place the two men’s lives at risk.

Abe justified his address in Egypt by saying, “I feel no need to show excessive consideration to terrorists.”

Koike went on to point out that shortly after the Islamic State threatened to kill the hostages on an online video on January 20, Abe “revised” his remarks to emphasize that the 200 million dollar aid is intended to help displaced people in the Middle East. The JCP councilor stressed that the prime minister should have picked his words carefully in the first place taking into consideration the hostage situation.

Abe said that Koike’s stance is tantamount to giving in to terrorists. This comment threw the floor into turmoil.

Koike condemned Abe for refusing to listen to any criticism and said that he will continue to examine the administration’s handling of this incident in order to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.


Past related article:
> ‘Islamic State’ outrage is unpardonable: JCP Shii [February 2, 2015]