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Face mask distributer imprisoned in sex shop by yakuza for 11 hours

All in a day’s work for a medical supply dealer.

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MLB pitcher Yu Darvish throws a curveball of sensibility into the Yasuda hostage controversy

And now a lesson in Internet civility from the American League strike-out leader of 2013.

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Jumpei Yasuda also explains why he said he was a South Korean man named Umaru in a video filmed by is captors.

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Japanese journalist missing since 2015 appears in terrorist video: “Please send help immediately”

Journalist Jumpei Yasuda, missing for three years, was seen in a terrorist hostage video pleading for help, but under a different name and nationality.
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New video claims one Japanese ISIS hostage killed, authenticity of video under investigation

Earlier this week, a video that is thought to have been produced by Islamic State militants surfaced, demanding that Japan pay a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours for the release of two Japanese hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had recently visited the Middle East and pledged $200 million in non-military aid, vowed to not give in to terrorism. The 72-hour time limit came and went, and on Saturday a new video was posted claiming that one hostage, Yukawa, was killed. While Abe and the Japanese people are angry, experts are taking a closer look to verify the authenticity of the somewhat questionable video.

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Fuji TV faces harsh criticism over “ticker” counting down to Japanese hostages’ murder

As we reported earlier in the week, Islamic State militants are currently holding two Japanese nationals hostage. The militants have said that the men will be executed within 72 hours unless the Japanese government pays a ransom of US$200 million, something that seems highly unlikely to happen.

With this being a rather sensitive subject, many people were extremely shocked and angry when Japanese morning television show Mezamashi Television went on air with a “ticker” onscreen counting how much time had passed since the demands were made.

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Saved by a Turban: Japanese Tigantourine Worker Heroically Rescued by Algerian Workers

During a press conference on 25 January, Takeshi Endo, a representative for, JGC Corp, the construction firm working at the ill-fated Tigantourine natural gas plant told the story of one lucky survivor who was rescued by the Algerian workers there.
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