There has been some criticism in Japan of freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who was freed after being held hostage in Syria for more than three years, that if you go to a dangerous place, despite the government urging you not to, and are taken prisoner, you get what you asked for (referred to in Japanese as jiko sekinin or self-responsibility). Do you agree with this view?

If he was going as a tourist for his own selfish reasons I might. However he was there doing his job, seeking to inform his fellow countrymen of what is really happening in the dangerous world that surrounds them beyond their own comfortable and comparatively safe shores.

He deserves praise rather than censure.

I applaud him, someone has to report all the crap that's going on in the world.

He took a risk - he knew it was a war zone and he went because it was a war zone. He wasn't just going for a walking holiday.

War zones require reporters - there is genuine public interest in what is going on. Ordinary civilians should keep well away bit we need reporters.

No, because you're basically saying the government controls your life or that the government doesn't want you to know about things

Dumb thing to do yes, but not without merit and certainly doesn't deserve Klingon Discommendation

Journalists and humanitarian volunteers should be COMMENDED for risking their lives for such noble purposes.

OTOH, thrill-seekers, mountain-climbers, missionaries, etc should be required to reimburse the agencies that come to their assistance.

Well there you go. 60% of readers would rather trust the government to report on what they are doing in a conflict zone. On a related note, polls say 60% of readers have been tricked into believing that their governments wouldn't lie to them.

They aren't going there to see the sights, they're going there to make sure that you are able to see the truth.

But as long as it doesn't involve your 'tax dollars', it's fine right? News flash, you were still going to pay the same taxes whether Yasuda was released or not.

Nearly all Japanese I know believe that the result of your personal actions count much more than the intent behind your actions.

Part of the job, risks.

A bit like those Brits (like the assistant of the Archbishop of Canturbury) going off to 'negotiate' freedom for hostages in Lebanon in the 1980s and getting to be hostages themselves for 3 years or more.They should have known but were either pompous, selfrighteous or totally naive.

Yasuda was not any of these I would say and knew the risks. Maybe just guilty of something like adrrenolin junkiness.

But did you see the look on his Mum's face after it was all over? Half relief, half 'You bastard, putting all of us through that!'

Okay, I’ve read through Yasuda’s tweets but apparently he talks about self responsibility when travelling to somewhere the government doesn’t allow you to go... like Syria..etc he also said something like ‘I don’t wont people to think that the government has done something’ which made me felt strange. Furthermore, he claims to be prisoned for 3 whole years in Syria but his skin conditions looks exactly the same as he used to be. What’s strange is that the Japanese government announced that there weren’t any departure record of Yasuda using a Japanese passport. He really might be Korean(no offence). And the topic is basically about Yasuda, not the journalism itself. Finally, what I want to say is, why aren’t there any holy spirited journalist eger to tell us about what’s happening in Uygur and Tibet? Btw Yasuda did almost nothing special and this is like his 5th time getting caught in that specific region. Maybe we should ask him how does de feel like to dump taxes.

P.S. He seems to be looking down on people from Arabs.

Interesting that there is a big Yes vote but most of the comments are No.

If a serious journalist, his actions are to be commended though he did put his family through it. I'm glad he was OK in the end.

While I commend his actions as a journalist, as a parent and spouse, I really feel really sorry for the suffering and anxiety he must have caused his family.

I think it depends if he was a bona fide journalist, as opposed to a thrill seeker making the claim of being a journalist. I haven't followed the story close enough to know what kind of work he put out before the notorious trip he took.

Really disappointing to see 64% “yes” vote. Yasuda-san is a hero for reporting real unbiased news from war zones. Without journalists like him, how can we get real facts of what is happening? Japanese will be proud of him.

I have not read any of this journalist's reports from the field but someone paid a lot of $ to free him. There is a difference between reporting or creating news for your employer. There may have been persons injured or killed in the background saving this journalist's rear end but the media would never report it.