Japan Scrambles to Win Hostage's Release
622668
Japan scrambled Wednesday to win the release a 24-year old Japanese man taken hostage by Islamic militants in Iraq, dispatching high level diplomats to the middle east and launching an appeal for his freedom on Arabic television.
609247
Japan stood by its refusal to give aid to North Korea on Tuesday unless Pyongyang settles a feud over Japanese kidnapped decades ago, adding a new twist to this week's talks on ending the North's nuclear arms program.
591931
CAIRO Aug 30 - France scrambled to secure the release of two French journalists kidnapped by Iraqi militants who gave Paris until Monday evening to drop its controversial ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
90820
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.
202046
Video posted Tuesday on a militant Islamic Web site showed what it claimed was a Japanese captive kidnapped by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group and threatened to behead him within 48 hours unless Japan pulls its troops from Iraq. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rejected the demand.
192277
Japan's ruling party scrambled on Thursday to find a new leader and avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shock resignation the previous day, just as parliamentary debate was set to begin.
34032
Video posted Tuesday on a militant Islamic Web site showed what it claimed was a Japanese captive kidnapped by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group and threatened to behead him within 48 hours unless Japan pulls its troops from Iraq.
359449
&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.
305601
There are reports that a body reportedly found in Iraq may belong to a young Japanese hostage.
294164
A decapitated body found in Iraq was identified Sunday as a Japanese backpacker taken hostage by Islamic militants, but Tokyo insisted it would not cut short its dispatch of troops there and vowed to combat terrorism.
348689
Japan&#39;s Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has called for the release of of a Japanese tourist taken hostage in Iraq but says Japan will not &quot;bend to terror.
152500
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
39533
British, American and Iraqi authorities were trying last night to secure the freedom of Margaret Hassan, the Irish-born aid worker kidnapped in Baghdad early yesterday.
26005
France scrambled to secure the release of  two French journalists kidnapped in Iraq by militants who have  given Paris until Monday evening to drop its ban on Muslim  headscarves in schools.
614872
The family of a Japanese man being held  hostage in Iraq begged for his life on Friday after the expiry  of a deadline set by his captors, who have threatened to behead  him unless Japan withdrew its troops.
59117
France scrambled to secure the freedom of  two French journalists kidnapped by Iraqi militants who gave  Paris until Monday evening to drop its controversial ban on  Muslim headscarves in schools.
7385
Japan scrambled on Friday to check a report that an Asian body had been found in Iraq after a deadline expired for the beheading of a Japanese man whose