Video of apparent Japanese hostage surfaces with message to family

It sounds really harsh but if Abe pays up that would be the biggest mistake in his career, election time or not. Paying them will only give the hostage-takers more motives to ESPECIALLY target Japanese people in the conflict zone.

This guy has already been caught and held once and didn't get the message? I hope the government does what it can and hte guy is brought back safely without Abe using this as a reason for pushing his personal politics, but this is the SECOND time he has gotten his nation embroiled in situations like this, and is the reason why people should NOT do what he has been doing.

D@ng Smith, we agree again. Hope it's not becoming a habit. Why the hell would anybody go back a second time? Because he either has a death wish or wants his 15 minutes of fame.

sensei258: "Because he either has a death wish or wants his 15 minutes of fame."

Given what he said in the video, which would make no sense if it were forced and not his own thoughts (the When you’re sitting there, wherever you are, in a dark room, suffering with the pain, there’s still no one. No one answering. No one responding. You’re invisible."), I'd say death wish for sure. I doubt he's in it for this kind of fame, though.

I hate to sound insensitive, but he should be left to fend for himself.

Paying them will only give the hostage-takers more motives to ESPECIALLY target Japanese people in the conflict zone.

Might this not be what the warmonger wants?

I hate to sound insensitive, but he should be left to fend for himself.

I agree. It was his choice to go, and it's his problem to deal with. Unfortunately, it will likely end in his death.

Should have wrote his book after the first ordeal. Not likely to get a second chance from Abe or his captors.

Last night on NHK there was a big piece on "terror" and how it could be coming to japan, not this guy gets grabbed. Its all going to be used to change the constitution, propaganda.

He is an Infidel to his captors---as such, he wont get much mercy!

This should not be made into a major crisis in my opinion. He knew the risks, the Japanese government can not be held responsible, and should not either.

Keep it off the front pages and out of the nightly news.

The most important thing is to bring him back home safely.i wont blame Abe Shinzo if he pays to get him back safely,he is Japanese citizen,and this should be Abe priority.I believe Abe will do,but am sure,people will say,he did because of summer elections,and if he didnt save him,they will say Abe doesnt care about his people.Its Abe complex.

The above video has been taken down but here is another one posted by someone writing in Arabic. https://www.facebook.com/tariqcham1/videos/884436855006527/.The last message to his country is kind of strange. "When you're sitting there, wherever you are, in a dark room, suffering with the pain.　 There's still no one. No one answering. No one responding. You're invisible. You are not exist. No one care about you. " As pointed out on 2ch the first two lines appear to be a quote from the Al Pacino Movie "Manglehorn." See the subtitles <http://player.pubfilm.com/sub/Manglehorn.srt >. The first two lines above are almost word for word. It looks at first sight like he is saying how lonely he. But, it is a strange self-pitying thing to say, especially from a Japanese perspective, about himself since he surely knows that people care about him and that he is causing them a lot of grief, and why would he quote from a film? Did he just want to say cheesy self-pitying things? I guess it is possible. I will try and rent the film.

His last words really do seem like they are out of place. Perhaps it's a code for something...I hope he makes it out safely.

@Sakurala Yes, and the last bit contrasts a little strangely with his message of "take care" to his family. He moves from being very selfless -- (a hostage in danger telling his family to take care) to self-pitying. I have read half the movie script however, and I can't see the significance.

Must be the coded coordinates for his location...

Hope he comes home safe, sure this will be used to help sway the nation to change the constitution, problem-reaction-solution.

Paying ransom/"board and lodging " fees would sustain their violent deeds. Just maybe Yasuda San loves al the attention he could generate. Otherwise, why would he risk his life and his country for the second time around? As with the other posters, I, too believe to let him learn the hard way. Just sad for his family.

Not another one... Lesson hasn't been learned. I'm pretty sure by now most Japanese have figured out that the Islamists don't care about who they take as hostages, nor who they kill.

What I would love to see though is in cases like these have tracking chips implanted so that when these types of terrorist groups kidnap someone, they'll have a military special forces troop landing on their heads within a few hours or so.

Why the hell would anybody go back a second time?

War correspondents go into war zones.

@Ffarmboy

How long has he been missing? Is the video from this year?

There were rumours, called unconfirmed by the Japanese foreign office, from July last year, and a statement from an NGO in December last year (which may have been retracted) but, I think he has been missing from some time in the latter half of last year. The video with this message was released yesterday, March 16th which corresponds to his birthday, which Yasuda mentions "on my birthday" in the video. The film "Manglehorn" was made in 2014 and may have been shown at Berlin and other film festivals prior to its release in cinemas in June last year 2015 and was released to DVD in October 2015, last year, but not yet (either in cinemas or DVD) in Japan. So presumably Mr. Yasuda　saw the film in captivity. . It is strange that Syrian freedom fighters should be showing recent Hollywood films to their captives.

But, I am positive that he is quoting. He is reading from a script in that part of the video and I know you don't get chance overlaps like that especially from second language speakers.

Kenji Goto who was tragically slain last year also may have given hints in the last video of him before his slaying by blinking a lot. This was argued to be because the video was green screened, using lights.

The nature of both hints may thus be vaguely similar; "This is a movie."

If Mr. Yasuda would say something more specific then I do not know what.

Anyone seen Manglehorn?

I am scared Abe will do something.

The Islamic State militant group beheaded two Japanese nationals - a self-styled security consultant and a veteran war reporter - early last year

Yes, that was January 22nd... on my baby's birthday!!!

"the first two lines appear to be a quote from the Al Pacino Movie... [but] why would he quote from a film?"

"Perhaps it's a code"

You are not wrong!! ;-)

Come to think of it, idle talk costs lives. I'd be very grateful if the moderator would be so kind as to delete my posts, other than perhaps... My students here in Japan almost always plagiarize. It has gotten so bad that I can't set homework for fear of having to fail them all. When I ask them why they copied they invariably say that the copied texted expressed what they wanted to say. It seems that they often see phrases as the building blocks of language not words. Since this guts English is likewise challenged, the same phenomenon is probably what is going on here.

"Anyone seen Manglehorn?"

The movie poster shows Al Pacino stroking a white cat. It reminds me of something!! ;-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manglehorn