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News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
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| November 1, 2004 |
In commemoration of Japanese hostage Koda Shosei: A call to Koizumi to withdraw the SDF |
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Following the discovery in Iraq of the body of Japanese hostage Koda Shosei, around 250 people gathered in front of Prime Minister Koizumi's official residence to mourn Koda's death and to call for the withdrawal of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
In a vigil called by Peace Boat, young people held candles and banners in silent prayer for Koda, and for the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have also lost their lives in the conflict. Koda was killed by an Iraqi militant group, who had held him hostage and demanded the withdrawal of the SDF troops within 48 hours in exchange for his life. Arguing that Koizumi's outright rejection of any possibility of an SDF withdrawal made Koda's killing inevitable, Peace Boat spokesperson Kushibuchi Mari, said: "As a Japanese citizen, I was very sad that our prime minister chose to prioritize his policy links with the United States over saving a human life."
The special legislation passed by the Japanese Diet to enable the deployment of troops to Iraq will expire on December 14, 2004. Kushibuchi called for an official announcement that troops will be withdrawn by then, and that there will be no extension of the deployment.
Read Peace Boat's Statement on the death of Koda Shosei
Read Peace Boat's Statement against the dispatch of the SDF |
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