The Islamic State's beheading of a Japanese citizen has highlighted just how vulnerable the country is to outside threats. Will the Japanese public now support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to reform the country's constitution to allow for a more active defense policy?
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on a six-day tour of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine, when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) posted a video online threatening to murder two Japanese hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, if his government did not pay $200 million within 72 hours. Abe had no good options. Indeed, when it comes to protecting its citizens overseas, Japan never does.
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on a six-day tour of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine, when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) posted a video online threatening to murder two Japanese hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, if his government did not pay $200 million within 72 hours. Abe had no good options. Indeed, when it comes to protecting its citizens overseas, Japan never does.