11 April 2004	Sunday	20 Safar 1425

TOKYO: Just as Japan has focused its foreign policy on its involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq, this week's abduction of three of its volunteers there has jarred a largely pacifist population - and may well undercut Tokyo's attempt to play a bigger role in international affairs.

Shock and dismay spread here over the volunteers' abduction in Samawa, southern Iraq, and threats by insurgents called Mujahideen Brigades to burn them alive if Tokyo does not withdraw its soldiers from Iraq within three days.

"The news is horrifying. We are praying for their safety," a tearful Yosuke Imai, whose younger brother is among the hostages, said after reports on Thursday reported the news of the kidnappings by groups opposed to the year-old foreign occupation of Iraq.

The youngest among the abducted volunteers, 18-year-old Noriyuki Imai, is a journalist.

Hundreds of peace activists demonstrated in front of government buildings on Friday, waving placards and calling for the return of more than 500 Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) stationed in Iraq since January. "Koizumi - why don't you go to Iraq instead of the hostages?" read one placard.

But on Friday, Koizumi said: "Japan must not bow to terrorists' despicable threats."

The abduction by groups who want all foreign presence out of Iraq stems from the "stupid" policy of the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said Akiko Osawa, a 34-year-old homemaker at the rally.

"The public was against getting embroiled in a US-led war. The war is for the benefit of US President George W. Bush and Koizumi and has brought nothing positive for Japan," she said in an interview.

The dispatch of Japan's SDF, which are the closest thing to a military the country has, has been a sensitive issue for some time but the abduction brings the debate out into the open.

Koizumi has cast Japan's lot with the US government's lead role in the occupation of Iraq - Tokyo has been a long-time ally of Washington - but now the conservative prime minister is likely to face open opposition to Japan's first post-war SDF deployment to a conflict area.

"The mood is touchy. Koizumi is putting on a show of strength, but he faces a dangerous situation where the public could turn against him any moment," said Koichi Ishiyama, a commentator on international affairs.

"He hopes that by appearing invincible he can persuade the people that Japan is a strong country. He's playing on the mixed feelings at the moment," added Yasuo Kurata, a former journalist and writer. The incident has also turned the spotlight on how conservatives - mostly senior politicians with Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party who have long lobbied for a militarily strong Japan - have successfully been making inroads into national policy.

Already, this has led a new report that links Japan's official development assistance - its most important diplomatic tool - to the country's involvement in Iraq this year.

"Placing Iraq reconstruction on top is in line with Japan's new ODA strategy to promote global security and peace," said Yota Kato, an official at the Foreign Ministry.

Tokyo has already pledged 5 billion US dollars in aid for Iraq, including 1.5 billion dollars in grants for 2004 over a four-year period from 2004 through 2007.

Recent surveys have been showing a gradual increase in support for the sending of Japanese troops to Iraq. Almost 60 per cent of those surveyed in a Kyodo news poll in January reflected this sentiment.

Japan's involvement in Iraq and siding with US government policy is happening at a time when Koizumi is spearheading a move to reform the nation's Peace Constitution -Dawn/The InterPress News Service.