Freed Japanese Journalist Becomes Subject of Online Debate

October 30, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese freelance journalist Junpei Yasuda has become a subject of online debate since he returned home last week after being freed from more than three years of captivity in Syria.

Held hostage by militants after being captured in June 2015, Yasuda, 44, was freed and returned to Japan on Thursday. He was held captive during the Iraq War in 2004.

Many online postings criticize Yasuda for seeking help despite visiting a dangerous area for self-responsibility, and for forcing the Japanese government to spend large sums of tax money to collect information.

Similar criticism raged after three Japanese citizens became hostages of an armed group in Iraq in 2004.

But Naoki Monna, honorary professor at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, said that "judging journalists' actions solely based on self-responsibility could lead to a denial of journalism."

The government is obliged to protect Japanese nationals and is also held responsible for dealing with any demand for ransoms, Monna said.

Shiro Kawamoto, professor at Nihon University in Tokyo and an expert on crisis management, said that major media companies that rely on news from freelance journalists who take risks should be responsible for their safety.

"I question the wisdom of leaving safety measures up to freelance journalists themselves," Kawamoto said.

Japanese major leaguer Yu Darvish expressed understanding for Yasuda's action of entering troubled areas, saying that no internal situation can be exposed if nobody enters there.

Rakugo storyteller Tatekawa Shiraku said that Yasuda should regret if a ransom was really paid in exchange for his release. This is because the money will be used to kill people, he said.

But Tatekawa stressed that everyone should welcome Yasuda's release first, followed by discussions and criticism. Jiji Press