Japan appeals for international help over Iraq hostage
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Japan has been appealing for international help to secure the release of a Japanese man kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq and threatened with death.
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Japan's government said it was trying to confirm news reports that the Islamic militant group of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi had taken a Japanese citizen hostage in Iraq and threatened to behead him.
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NEW YORK-The Iraqi and Afghan leaders both asked Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to continue assisting their war-ravaged countries, Japanese officials said Tuesday.
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A Japanese hostage has been beheaded in Iraq, Japanese officials said on Sunday, but Tokyo vowed it would keep its troops in the country on their reconstruction mission.
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Japan was checking a media report on  Friday that an Asian body had been found in Iraq after a  deadline expired for the beheading of a Japanese youth whose  captors had demanded that Tokyo withdraw its troops.
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Japan&#39;s Foreign Ministry has dismissed a claim by Iraqi militants who kidnapped and killed a Japanese hostage that Tokyo offered a ransom for his release.
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A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi threatened to behead a Japanese hostage in Iraq if Tokyo did not withdraw its troops, but Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan&#39;s contingent would stay put.
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Japan said on Friday it would urge North Korea to reinvestigate the fate of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago, and threatened to take &quot;harsh&quot; action unless the reclusive communist state responded &quot;sincerely&quot;.
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&quot;There is a possibility that this is the body of the Japanese hostage, but it has yet to be identified,&quot; a ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
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The Islamic militant group of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi reportedly claims to have taken a Japanese citizen hostage in Iraq. In a video shown on the Internet, the group threatens to execute him if Tokyo does not withdraw its troops from Iraq in 48 hours.
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Japan raced against the clock yesterday to free a young Japanese hostage in Iraq but had little reason for hope less than a day before the deadline set by al-Qaida-linked militants for his killing.
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Japan&#39;s Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura has urged the captors of Shosei Koda in Iraq to set him free. In an interview to Aljazeera&#39;s correspondent in Tokyo on Wednesday, he said, &quot;Koda is a civilian who
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  said Wednesday he would not withdraw troops from Iraq despite a  threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage within  48 hours unless Tokyo pulled its forces out.
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TOKYO Japanese leaders are struggling to make contact with Islamic militants in Iraq holding a Japanese traveler hostage. The Japanese government says it has few details on the kidnapping of the 24-year-old tourist.
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International donors that pledged  billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq meet in Tokyo this week as  the United States seeks outside help to stabilize the country.
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Japan grew more worried on Friday about  the fate of a Japanese hostage in Iraq as time passed after the  expiry of deadline set by his captors to behead him unless  Tokyo withdrew its troops.
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By Natalie Obiko Pearson, Associated Press, 10/30/2004 01:52. TOKYO  A body resembling a Japanese hostage held by Islamic militants has been found in Iraq, the government announced Saturday, and officials