Japan heightens security on report of 2nd beheading

: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Shanghai Daily, February 2, 2015

Japan ordered heightened security precautions yesterday after reports of journalist Kenji Goto's beheading by the Islamic State group, and said it would persist with its non-military support for fighting terrorism.

Japanese people gathered in Tokyo on Sunday, and criticised Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies.[Photo/China.org.cn]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced the act as "heinous and despicable."

IS claimed in a video released online on Saturday that it had killed 47-year-old Goto — the second beheading of a Japanese hostage in a week.

Goto, a freelance war correspondent, is seen in an orange outfit kneeling next to a standing masked man dressed head-to-toe in black with his face covered.

The man, who speaks with a British accent, appears to be the same as featured in previous videos.

He says the killing is the result of "reckless" decisions by the Japanese government — a possible reference to aid money Tokyo gave to help refugees fleeing IS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq — and would mark the beginning of a "nightmare for Japan."

The video, whose content has not been verified, ends with the image of a body and a decapitated head.

"After an extensive review, we believe it's highly probable" the video is authentic, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.

Abe said his government would increase humanitarian aid to the Middle East.

"I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists," he told reporters. "We will cooperate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes."

A sobbing Junko Ishido, Goto's mother, told reporters: "I can't find the words to describe how I feel about my son's very sad death."

His brother Junichi said he had been holding out hope, "but that's not possible any more."

Japan has long avoided getting embroiled in Middle East conflicts and is rarely the target of religious extremism. So the hostage crisis has been especially shocking.

Many braved Tokyo's chilly streets to pick up the Yomiuri newspaper's special supplement about the Goto video.

"It's scary — they are saying they'll target Japanese people now," said 21-year-old university student Kyosuke Kamogawa.

US President Barack Obama led international condemnation of the "heinous murder."

"Through his reporting, Mr Goto courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world," Obama said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was further reminder that IS was "the embodiment of evil."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the killing an "abhorrent, inhuman" act.

Last week IS claimed responsibility for the beheading of another hostage, Haruna Yukawa, after a deadline for payment of a US$200 million ransom expired.

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