Al
Qaeda
and
Japan
(archive)
November
3,
2003
/
Vol.
162
No.
17
Notebook
Is
It
Time
to
Panic?
Al-Qaeda
names
Japan
as
one
of
six
Iraq-related
enemies.
The
real
targets
may
be
Japanese
abroad
BY
ILYA
GARGER
Japanese
Prime
Minister
Junichiro
Koizumi
wants
to
boost
his
nation's
international
profile.
The
latest
audio-tape
message
attributed
to
Osama
bin
Laden
shows
he
may
have
succeeded:
the
al-Qaeda
leader
named
Japan—which
has
pledged
$5
billion
in
aid
to
Iraq
and
is
preparing
to
send
troops
in
December—as
one
of
six
U.S.
allies
targeted
for
future
terrorist
attacks.
It
is
the
first
time
al-Qaeda
has
said
Japan
is
in
its
sights.
Despite
the
taunt,
most
experts
consider
an
al-Qaeda
strike
on
Japan
unlikely,
due
to
the
nation's
tight
immigration
policies
and
stepped-up
anti-terrorism
efforts.
At
greater
risk
are
Japanese
abroad.
"Embassies
are
hiring
extra
security,"
says
Shinsuke
Shimizu,
director
of
the
Foreign
Ministry's
International
Counter-terrorism
Cooperation
division,
"and
Japanese
residents
in
Southeast
Asia
are
making
contingency
plans."
The
Japanese
government
has
even
distributed
animated
videotapes
to
expat
Japanese
with
advice
on
how
to
survive
a
kidnapping
or
hijacking.
Bin
Laden
has
given
Japan
something
it
has
happily
lacked
since
World
War
II:
an
enemy.
—With
reporting
by
Toko
Sekiguchi/Tokyo
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501031103-526549,00.html
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