Japan Will Never Give In to Terrorism, Spokesman Says at UN

New York (PNA/Kyodo) — Japan will not give in to terrorism after the recent beheadings of two of its citizens by militants or be deterred from making further contributions towards peace in the Middle East, a spokesman of its foreign ministry said Thursday at a press conference at the United Nations.

“In the face of such outrageous and inhumane acts, Japan’s message to the international community is simple: Japan will never give into terrorism,” press secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura said.

“We will not change our past path of peaceful contribution to the region,” he said, ruling out Japan sending ground forces to fight terrorism.

“At this point in time, we will not consider such an option,” he noted. “Japan’s stance is to provide non-military humanitarian assistance to the regions and people who suffer from the threat of outrageous terrorism.”

“Terrorism in not a challenge that is only faced by Japan, but also the whole international community so this issue should be addressed jointly, internationally,” he said.

He declined to comment on whether the recent murders of Haruna Yukawa, 42, and Kenji Goto, 47, by Islamic State extremists could serve as a catalyst to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist Constitution. (PNA/Kyodo) FFC/PJN