Japan Refuses to Give Up Hope on Iraq Hostage
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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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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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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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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 - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed on Sunday that Japanese troops would continue their domestically unpopular mission in Iraq after Islamic militants demanding a pullout killed a 24-year-old Japanese tourist.
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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's contingent would stay put.
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Japan's government was still in the dark  about a Japanese held hostage in Iraq on Thursday, less than 24  hours before a deadline set by his captors, who have threatened  to behead the young man unless Japan withdraws its troops.
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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.
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BAGHDAD: A body found in Iraq cannot be confirmed as that of a young Japanese man taken hostage and the corpse has been sent to Qatar for identification, Japan&#39;s Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shuzen Tanigawa said yesterday.
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threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage within 48 hours unless Tokyo pulls its forces out. &quot;We cannot tolerate terrorism and we will not give in to terrorism,&quot; Koizumi told reporters on Wednesday.
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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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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  said Wednesday he would not withdraw troops from Iraq despite a  threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage within  48 hours unless Tokyo pulled its forces out.
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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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Japan grew more worried on Friday about  the fate of a Japanese hostage in Iraq as time passed after the  expiry of deadline set by his captors to behead him unless  Tokyo withdrew its troops.
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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.
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Japan is racing against the clock to secure the release of a young Japanese man kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq, with less than 24 hours to go before a deadline for his execution.