The top or most interesting stories from Japan for January 21
– Dominating the newspapers headlines was the release of a ransom video by ISIS on Tuesday which demanded USD$200 million for two Japanese hostages in Syria. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to save men, but as the deadline draws closer this morning it’s still unclear whether payment will be made, with The Japan Times writing ISIS has “likely made its demand with the implicit knowledge that it won’t be met”.
– Japanese government analysis of the ransom video is indicating it’s very likely the video is a composite, with the two hostages filmed separately.
– In the midst of the hostage crisis, Abe is still using his tour of the Middle East to build up Japan’s image as a strong member of the international community, or as a “postwar peace-builder“.
– Jay Alabaster, an American researcher and former foreign correspondent, is trying to present a more “objective” perspective of the notorious whaling town Taiji (featured in the 2009 documentary, The Cove) to Western audiences.
Graphic footage featured in The Cove of a Japanese dolphin hunt prompted international outrage, with Broome – Taiji’s sister city in Western Australia – suspending the relationship in August that year, renewing it two months later in October. In Japan, nationalists protested against the film’s release.
