Radical scholar provided Japan with channel to IS at hostage crisis peak

“The Japanese government took all possible measures and considered all options to deal with the hostage crisis but I would like to refrain from commenting on specific steps undertaken by the government,”

Ah, so we should just take your word on it, then.

Well that is very disappointing if it is true. There should be no negotiation with the IS.

“The Japanese government took all possible measures and considered all options to deal with the hostage crisis but I would like to refrain from commenting on specific steps undertaken by the government,” said task force official Takanori Hayashi.

Contradiction I do believe. If they disregarded using this back channel, publicly, privately, or whatever, the government did not use all means at it's disposal.

I don't get it. They (J-gov) confiscate the passport of a guy they suspect is going to the region, yet they have not thrown this guy into jail who is able to communicate directly with ISIS. Seems to me that the J-gov is concerned more with public appearance of them not being able to do something if someone else gets taken hostage, than the fact that a guy here is in communcation with the group. I wonder what else this guy has been telling ISIS about Japan.

They (J-gov) confiscate the passport of a guy they suspect is going to the region, yet they have not thrown this guy into jail who is able to communicate directly with ISIS.

Maybe the guy is Kunio Hatoyama. He once claimed he knew an an al-Qaeda member who entered Japan illegally. He went on to say that the man was a "friend of a friend" who was involved in a bomb attack on Bali.

He had expressed support for Islamic State on Twitter and posed with a gun before the group’s flag. He says he does not support Islamic State now but maintains friendships with militants.

Sorry but keeping in touch with ISIS? He sounds very very dangerous. Can we have a 24/7 stakeout and some wiretapping please. Who knows what kind of bad ideas are floating in his head.

It would be interesting to learn about Koreans, Chinese, Russians, going into that war zone from East Asia. And does the US seize passports of IS supporters?

OMG is all I can say! They knew. They had a channel of communication. They didn't use it.

They had a channel of communication. They didn't use it.

Thank goodness. An example of Abe actually doing something right.

Obviously a recruiter would have connections. They should talk to everyone to try to save the life. I hope they were trying to make connections through the Japanese Islamic community (NHK interviewed them extensively during this story, and they seem to be everywhere in Japan and all against ISIS).

Well that is very disappointing if it is true. There should be no negotiation with the IS.

It depends what you mean by "negotiation". In the real world, the conversation always continues through intermediaries passing messages via the secret service, however vague.

Thank goodness. An example of Abe actually doing something right.

If one uses their head before letting emotions get the better part of their fingers before typing one would understand and realize that other hostages have been released through private negotiations with IS.

If Abe was truly concerned about the hostages and their freedom, what am I saying, he didn't care. A leader with leadership skills uses those tools he has around himself or herself. Abe is a one-man show,

Their conversations clearly were not vague and secretive enough if news of them finds their way onto Japan Today for plebs like me to discuss.

Nothing would have saved the two Japanese men who were slaughtered. There was a lot of negotiating going on for the Jordanian soldier and look what happened to him. It's all so unreal and sad!!

A great statesman once said that negotiation is what you do with your enemies. They should negotiate.

LaWren... valid point.

Good work . Kill the obljrct of the mission,.

IS would never have let the Japanese hostages go anyway... any group that burns hostages alive in a cage cannot be reasoned with, cannot be negotiated with. How do you negotiate with madmen?

It is terrible, and no doubt blame will fall on a group of people, whether the government or the reporters themselves for being there. I still firmly believe ISIS is solely responsible. All people involved with Isis need to be deported to Syria and banned from returning. Why on earth would you want to make them stay.

That Japanese IS recruiter should be in jail and not an intermediary. You don't do dealings with criminals.

It's funny, this article is clearly trying to point fingers at the Japanese gov't for not using this "resource", as if communicating via someone who has at the very least flirted with sympathy for these murderers would be a good thing.

Talk about your misguided criticisms. That guy should be under surveillance, not used as an intermediary.

Nakata said he decided not to forward the message, believing it showed no willingness to talk.

WHAT?

That's absolutely unbelievable.

Why isn't the headline "Radical Scholar Blocks Japanese Government Negotiations with ISIS?"

sorry but hokkaidoguy is off the mark...take my story as an example. when someone asks you to help them out, you try to do it to the best of your abilities, right? right! So, this Japanese guy/colleague asks me to translate and respond to a message he got from some east european girl...I told him quite frankly...and yes some of you might say the 'd' word (discrimination) but I said " she only wants your money or your nationality"...he was married anyway...it's something that you KNOW. So, Tanaka just KNEW the message would come across as a provocation...actually that seems a fair conclusion to me, too...or should they have included the word 'earnestly'?