Hostage killings highlight threat, meager options for Japan

TOKYO (AP) - The killing of two Japanese taken hostage by the Islamic State group has savagely driven home the high stakes Japan faces and limited options it can muster in such circumstances.

Journalist Kenji Goto's beheading, seen in an online video over the weekend, also offers a glimpse into how Japan is struggling to handle the rising menace of terrorism.

Until this crisis, Japan had not become directly embroiled in the fight against the militants, who now control about a third of both Syria and neighboring Iraq in a self-declared caliphate. Tokyo's backing for U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamic State group is confined to financial and humanitarian aid for refugees and other non-military support for countries affected by the conflict.

That proved no hindrance for the jihadis.

"What we should realize is that the Japanese are no exception to terrorist targets. We really should open our eyes to see this reality," Kunihiko Miyake, a former diplomat and researcher at a private think tank in Tokyo, told a news show on TV Asahi.

"The levels of safety precautions Japan has taken up until now are not enough," he said. "We must review and step up security for Japanese, not only those abroad but here in Japan."

Japan's options for trying to free the hostages were limited. Tokyo lacks a strong diplomatic presence in the region and has a very small corps of Arab experts. Moreover, the military is confined by the constitution, drafted by U.S. occupying forces after World War II, to a strictly self-defense role and would be unable to stage a rescue attempt.

The video showing Goto's killing, purportedly from the Islamic State militants, carried chilling threats to single out Japanese anywhere as targets.

Addressing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a man resembling a militant shown in other beheading videos by the Islamic State group says, "because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin."

Abe has made security a top priority of his administration. He ordered greater vigilance at airports and at Japanese facilities overseas, such as embassies and schools. The government already was considering sending troops for overseas rescues.