Japan refuses to withdraw troops after kidnapping in Iraq
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Japan insisted it would not bow to the demands of Islamic militants in Iraq who have threatened to behead a Japanese man unless Tokyo orders its forces out of the country within 48 hours.
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Japan refused to give up hope that a  Japanese man taken hostage in Iraq was still alive on Friday  after the passing of a deadline set by his captors to behead  him unless Tokyo withdrew its troops.
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Japan has confirmed that the headless body found in Baghdad on Saturday is of the Japanese being held captive in Iraq. An armed group in Iraq had on Tuesday threatened to behead Shosei Koda, 24, within 48-hours unless Japan pulled its troops out of Iraq.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi refused to withdraw Japanâs troops from Iraq, rejecting demands by Iraqi militants who have threatened to behead a Japanese civilian unless the soldiers left.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says Japan won&#39;t yield to terrorism by withdrawing its troops from Iraq, in response to reports an Iraqi group kidnapped a Japanese
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Japan has vowed to keep troops in Iraq despite the beheading of one of its citizens by militants. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi&#39;s group had said it would killed Shosei Koda, 24, within 48 hours if Japan did not withdraw its troops.
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The beheading of a Japanese hostage in Iraq renewed pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to withdraw his country&#39;s troops, as the opposition blamed his pro-US policy for the slaying.
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Japan has said it will keep its troops in Iraq, despite the beheading of a Japanese hostage by Islamic militants. Officials had earlier confirmed that a body found in Baghdad yesterday was that of Shosei Koda
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A militant group in Iraq claims to be holding a Japanese citizen and gives Tokyo 48 hours to withdraw troops.
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Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's  militant group threatened to behead a Japanese hostage it said  worked with Japan's forces in Iraq if Tokyo did not withdraw  its troops from the country within 48 hours.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday Japanese troops would not pull out of Iraq, rejecting a demand by Islamic militants claiming to have taken a Japanese hostage.
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Efforts to rescue a Japanese hostage in Iraq continued Wednesday with a call from Japan&#39;s foreign minister on the abductors to free the young man while the British hostage in
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Earlier Tuesday Japan&#39;s Justice Ministry rejected his demand to stay in the country, saying no justification had been found to grant him protection as a political refugee.
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Radical militants on Tuesday kidnapped one man who they claimed to be Japanese and demanded the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Iraq.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he won't withdraw troops from Iraq despite information a Japanese man has been taken hostage there, Kyodo News reported.
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Japan insisted on Wednesday that it would not bow to the demands of Islamic militants in Iraq who threatened to behead a young Japanese drifter unless Tokyo pulled its troops from the country within 48 hours.
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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.