Japanese Hostage Taken by al-Zarqawi

[Russell]

he deserved it
allahu akbar!

You mean he deserves his Darwin Award?

[Wage Slave]

Cosplay and fantasy suddenly got very real. Poor deluded man - In Japan you can dress up as a soldier and get away with it. Do it in Iraq and it will get you killed pretty fast.

Anyone else struck by the accent of the IS person interrogating him? He sounded like a Dixon's employee revelling in a bit of long awaited power. What a mess.

And what's with the Iraqi army? Have they been on the losing side for so long, so many times that they have forgotten how to do anything else?

[Coligny]

Seems team airsoft japan lost one of his best show offs...

Dunce bragging on facebook, company name using the generic term... For PMCs... One man army... More "one man" than "army". Real champion we had here...

[IparryU]

Wow... He just didn't understand that shit is real AFK. glad he isn't a politician or leading Japan's ranks.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I wouldn't assume he didn't understand the danger. There are plenty of people who get off on that kind of shit. There's still no confirmation that he was killed so who knows what's going on?

[Wage Slave]

I wouldn't assume he didn't understand the danger. There are plenty of people who get off on that kind of shit. There's still no confirmation that he was killed so who knows what's going on?

I'm not sure what you mean by confirmation but:

https://twitter.com/OmarJerbi/status/501102629280559104

and the track record of what this group do to unarmed civilians never mind POWs mean that the balance of probabilities is pretty heavily weighted in favour of him being executed.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I wouldn't assume he didn't understand the danger. There are plenty of people who get off on that kind of shit. There's still no confirmation that he was killed so who knows what's going on?

I'm not sure what you mean by confirmation but:

https://twitter.com/OmarJerbi/status/501102629280559104

and the track record of what this group do to unarmed civilians never mind POWs mean that the balance of probabilities is pretty heavily weighted in favour of him being executed.

Yeah, I saw that. That doesn't mean it's true though. Not that it would surprise me.

[Samurai_Jerk]

There's no evidence but according to this article in Japanese, a local commander (whatever that means) in Aleppo has claimed in an email to an NGO that Yukawa is still alive.

[Wage Slave]

Well, I wish him luck. If it hasn't happened yet, it likely will. This lot seem fairly uninterested in ransoms or swaps preferring gruesome, public via the internet, executions. No doubt you saw the reports of James Foley's end today.

Yet another bloody Brit. This time sounding more well educated - maybe more afro-caribbean than Pakistani?

[matsuki]

There's no evidence but according to this article in Japanese, a local commander (whatever that means) in Aleppo has claimed in an email to an NGO that Yukawa is still alive.

Dude, they're using twitter...they'll find his facebook and use it to scare all his "friends" with his very own beheading video.

[Russell]

It seems he has declared that he wanted to fight for the rebels all along.

That's why they call him a spy...

[Russell]

A broken man living on dreams pulls Japan into Syria Islamic State hostage drama

When Haruna Yukawa was captured in Syria earlier this month, a video apparently released by his captors showed them pressing the Japanese man to answer questions friends say he had struggled with for years: Who are you? Why are you here?

In fact, Yukawa, 42, had first travelled to Aleppo four months earlier on what amounted to a hardship course in self-discovery, according to people who know him and his account.

Changes in Yukawa’s life in suburban Tokyo had been fast and disorienting. Over the past decade, he had lost his wife to lung cancer, lost a business and his house to bankruptcy and been forced to live in a public park for almost a month, according to Yukawa’s father and an online journal he maintained.

The hard times led to soul searching. By his own account, he had changed his name to the feminine-sounding Haruna, attempted to kill himself by cutting off his genitals and came to believe he was the reincarnation of a cross-dressing Manchu princess who had spied for Japan in World War II.

By late 2013, Yukawa had also begun a flirtation with Japan’s extreme right-wing politics and cultivated a new persona as a self-styled security consultant, according to his Facebook page and blog posts, though he never did any work as a consultant.

He borrowed money to travel to Syria and dreamed of providing security to big Japanese companies in conflict areas like the coast of Somalia. The Syrian civil war was a new start — and his last chance to make a success in life, he told friends and family. Later this year, he planned to head to Somalia “where the danger factor will be amped up.”

“He felt his life had reached its limit,” said Yukawa’s father, Shoichi, 74.

More

Fascinating story showing what a nutcase he is.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Interesting. Looks like we were right about his gender bending. Poor bastard.

[yanpa]

The hard times led to soul searching. By his own account, he had changed his name to the feminine-sounding Haruna, attempted to kill himself by cutting off his genitals and came to believe he was the reincarnation of a cross-dressing Manchu princess who had spied for Japan in World War II.

No, that would be Dave Spector.

[Samurai_Jerk]

The hard times led to soul searching. By his own account, he had changed his name to the feminine-sounding Haruna, attempted to kill himself by cutting off his genitals and came to believe he was the reincarnation of a cross-dressing Manchu princess who had spied for Japan in World War II.

No, that would be Dave Spector.

Is Yukawa Jewish?

[matsuki]

At least they saved us a 15-45min delay on the Chuo-line

[Russell]

Interesting. Looks like we were right about his gender bending. Poor bastard.

Actually, the story appears to suggest that he succeeded to cut of his genitals, but due to the quick action of his wife, they could be reattached.

She surely had a self-interest in that one.

Unfortunately, she had only two years to enjoy the resurrection before succumbing to cancer.

Talking about drama...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Whatever happened to Haruna Yukawa?

[kurogane]

I don't know, but it reminded me of Mai Haruna. I hope my enjoyment of her oeuvre is not stained by doubts of her femininity

[matsuki]

Latest thing I see on google is from September, simply stating they haven't been successful in freeing him. My guess is he either joined them or is dead...and either seem equally likely.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Looks like ISIS just answered my question.

The Islamic State terrorist group (IS, formerly ISIS) said in a video it will execute two Japanese nationals unless a $200-million ransom is paid within 72 hours.

The threat came on Tuesday in a video published on several Islamist websites. The militant group said they are demanding the money because Japan had pledged to pay the same amount to the US-led campaign against IS.

The video features two Asian men wearing orange fatigues standing on their knees and a masked man in black holding a knife, reading the demand. The hostages are Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa, according to the video.

Goto is an independent journalist, who has been covering events in Syria, as shown by his Twitter account and website.

The terrorist is said to be a British man, who was featured in previous execution videos released by IS.

[matsuki]

Well...at least "Haruna" is going out with a splash?

[Salty]

This ISIS bunch is a sick and poor excuse for humanity and needs to be wiped off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. I don`t see Japan paying a ransom. May their deaths be quick and as painless as is possible.

[matsuki]

Since 2008, various terrorist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda have netted at least $125 million from kidnap ransoms, mostly from European governments, according to a report published last year in the New York Times.

Aloha snackbar!

[CrankyBastard]

Two hundred million dollars!
I'm assuming they want cash as opposed to using paypal.
I wonder what the protocol is for paying that amount.
How is it handled?

[IparryU]

Two hundred million dollars!
I'm assuming they want cash as opposed to using paypal.
I wonder what the protocol is for paying that amount.
How is it handled?

cash in hand... but mind you that the Japanese would have to get some JPY exchanged into USD then deliver it.

[Cyka UchuuJin]

I think Abe's statement all but guarantees their death.

I really wish he'd have made that pledge quietly. The louder these governments shout their support, the more innocent citizens of those countries are going to get hit.

[Coligny]

Whut did Abe said ?

And since when Haruna Yukawa has been undeaded ?

Do isis gave him the H1Z1 virus to contaminamate the Tokyo ?

Still pending: where are my pants...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Whut did Abe said ?

And since when Haruna Yukawa has been undeaded ?

Do isis gave him the H1Z1 virus to contaminamate the Tokyo ?

Still pending: where are my pants...

That lazy сука didn't even bother to provide us a link.

[Wage Slave]

I think Abe's statement all but guarantees their death.

I really wish he'd have made that pledge quietly. The louder these governments shout their support, the more innocent citizens of those countries are going to get hit.

I get the feeling that he, like a few at present, sees nothing but upside in troublemaking and people getting worked up for the alleged war between civilisations.

However, I still think we just have to go after ISIS and no holds barred. They are not a civilization and shouldn't be allowed to even pretend to be one at home in their bedrooms.