Japan mulls possible prisoner swap with IS, remains tight-lipped about developments

The Japanese government on Tuesday remained fairly tight-lipped over developments regarding Kenji Goto, a war journalist, still held captive by the Islamic State ( IS) militants, following the killing of another Japanese hostage on Saturday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other senior officials in Tokyo declining to comment on speculation that it is in talks with the Jordanian government over a possible prisoner swap.

Both Abe and his top spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga have towed the official line, with Suga telling reporters Tuesday that the government believes Goto is still alive and is seeking the cooperation from Jordan and other relevant governments, religious and tribal leaders to secure his release at the earliest possible juncture.

Abe, for his part, in a briefing with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida earlier Tuesday, was updated on progress made by officials in Amman, where an emergency headquarters has been established to deal with the situation. Kishida told reporters he had briefed Abe on a number of specifics and that the government was doing all it can to utilize all of its channels, including diplomatic ones available to it, such as those with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and those of its other allies in the region, to ensure the safe release of Goto.

In parliament Tuesday, Abe staunchly defended the government's handling of the hostage crisis, following opposition lawmaker Seiji Maehara quizzing Abe on his decision making during a parliamentary debate.

Maehara, noting that of the two Japanese hostages, Yukawa -- killed by the militant group for Japan not meeting a ransom demand of 200 million U.S. dollars, according to a statement made by Goto in a second IS video, in which the Japanese captive held a photo of a slain Yukawa and called for the release of Sajida al-Rashawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan for her involvement in a terror attack on three hotels in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people -- was first captured in August.

Maehara, observers said Tuesday, was suggesting that firstly, the government had had ample time to deal with Yukawa being taken hostage and went on to suggest that the ransom demand of 200 million U.S. dollars was made by the group due to Abe's explicit mention of the Islamic State in a speech made in Cairo recently, in which the Japanese leader pledged the same amount in humanitarian aid to the nations fighting the extremists.

But Abe, in parliament, defended his and the government's actions regarding the hostage crisis and IS, saying, "The 200 million U.S. dollars contribution was aimed at providing food and medicine to save the lives of more than 10 million people, including refugees and children who have lost their homes, shivering in the cold and suffering from illnesses, and our contribution has won high praises from the international community. "

The prime minister went on to tell Maehara and other skeptics that, "If we fear the risks so much that we succumb to the terrorists' threats, we won't be able to make any humanitarian contributions to countries surrounding the area of conflict," adding that, "Our country will never bow to terrorists. We will continue our humanitarian support in our own unique way."

But despite Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama, deployed to Jordan as an envoy to head up operations to establish dialogue with the IS and negotiate Goto's safe release, being quoted by local media there as saying Monday night he hoped Japan and Jordan, "can all firmly work hard and join hands to cooperate, and for the two countries to cooperate, in order for us to see the day when the Jordanian pilot and our Japanese national Mr. Goto, can both safely return to their own countries with a smile on their faces." Government officials in Tokyo have yet to corroborate notions of a joint prisoner swap with Jordan.

Nakayama was referring to a possible scenario, first mentioned by the IS through Goto in its latest video posted Saturday, in which Jordan releases Sajida al-Rashawi from death row in return for both Goto and a Jordanian pilot, 1st Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, who the IS captured after his plane crashed in December.

According to local news reports, Nakayama, following a meeting at the Japanese Embassy in Amman, told reporters that as, "other parties are now involved," he was not at liberty to give any fresh comments.

The possibility of a prisoner swap presents a conundrum for both Tokyo and Amman, with the pros being the safe release of the captives, but the cons meaning that the IS could turn the swap into a coup and insist more IS prisoners are released and in doing so enable it to reaffirm its connections with al-Qaida in Iraq, an unwelcome prospect for the United States-led coalition countries involved in anti-IS operations.

The United States and Britain have both urged Japan to maintain its "zero tolerance stance" in negotiating with terrorists, although observers have pointed out that countries like France have routinely paid tens of millions of U.S. dollars to release its nationals held captive by the IS, and, Japan itself paid three million U.S. dollars in 1999 for the release of four mining experts held to ransom in Kyrgyzstan.

In addition, observers have also pointed out that the United States last year swapped an Army sergeant for five Taliban commanders, in contradiction of its own stance.

But Jen Psaki, U.S. State Department spokeswoman, was quoted at a press conference as saying that such a prisoner swap, as outlined by the IS and being mulled by Japan and Jordan is "in the same category" as paying a ransom to the extremists, and, as such, is equivalent to conceding to terrorism.

Psaki said that the United States would continue its efforts to support Japan in its endeavors to secure the release of Goto, reflecting the sentiments of U.S. President Barack Obama, who previously offered his "unwavering solidarity with the Japanese people" and a pledge to "work with its ally to bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice" and to "continue to take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat IS."

But as Japanese officials, including Abe and Suga, remain guarded as to how the possible prisoner swap deal may be developing, Nakayama has seemingly broken the silence, being the first Japanese official to mention the Jordanian pilot and giving a comparatively upbeat view on the Goto's prospects.

"We are going to strive to rescue Mr. Goto with the full support of the Jordanian government," Nakayama told local media, reiterating that both Japan and Jordan would cooperate on Goto's release and of that of the Jordanian pilot.

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