Japan refuses to withdraw troops in hostage drama
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Japan today refused to withdraw its troops from Iraq despite demands by Iraqi militants who have taken a Japanese civilian hostage and threatened to behead him unless the soldiers left.
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TOKYO - Japan sought international help Wednesday to secure the release of a Japanese man taken hostage in Iraq and pledged to do its utmost to gain his freedom after refusing to bow to the kidnappers&#39; threat to behead him unless Japan withdraws its
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CAIRO - A video on a militant Islamic web site threatens to kill a kidnapped Japanese man, unless Japan pulls its troops out of Iraq.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  insisted on Wednesday that Japan would not withdraw its troops  from Iraq despite a threat by a militant group to behead a  Japanese hostage unless Tokyo pulled them out.
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The United States has rejected a request by Japan that it verify Tokyo's contribution to the US-led "war on terror" in Afghanistan is not used for military operations in Iraq, a report said Sunday.
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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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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 has brushed off a North Korean statement saying it would consider sanctions imposed by Tokyo &quot;a declaration of war,&quot; and renewed calls for penalties on the North for failing to account fully for Japanese citizens it abducted decades ago.
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worked with Japanese forces in Iraq if Tokyo does not withdraw its forces from the country within 48 hours. &quot;We grant the Japanese government 48 hours to withdraw its troops from Iraq or this infidel will meet the same fate as Berg ... and.
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An armed group in Iraq has taken a Japanese traveler hostage and threatened to kill him unless Tokyo withdraws its Self-Defense Forces troops from the country within 48 hours, government officials said in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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Tokyo: Japan said on Friday it had not given up hope for a Japanese hostage in Iraq after a report he may have been killed, as the 24-year-old&#39;s mother pleaded to Islamic militants to spare him.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said Japan will not pull its troops out of Iraq despite threats by a group led by an al Qaeda ally to behead a Japanese hostage, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
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TOKYO, March 1 -- Japan's prime minister denied Thursday that the country's military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, casting doubt on a past government apology and jeopardizing a fragile detente with his Asian neighbors.
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TOKYO, Oct 28  - Japan raced against the clock Thursday to free a young Japanese hostage in Iraq but had little reason for hope hours before the deadline set by al-Qaeda-linked kidnappers for his killing.
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Japan&#39;s prime minister, a staunch US ally in Iraq, refused on Wednesday to withdraw Japan&#39;s troops from the country, taking a tough stance in the face of demands by militants threatening to behead a Japanese hostage unless the soldiers leave.
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BAGHDAD - The 48-hour deadline set by a group of Islamic militants for Japan to agree to withdraw its troops from Iraq expired Thursday night, with the group threatening to behead a 24-year-old Japanese hostage if Tokyo ignores its demand.
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A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab  al-Zarqawi threatened to behead a Japanese hostage in Iraq  unless Japan withdrew its troops, but Prime Minister Junichiro  Koizumi said on Wednesday that Japan's contingent would stay.