PanOrient News | Japanese Captured by ``Islamic State`` in Syria ``Runs ‘Risk Defense Service’

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Japanese Captured by ``Islamic State`` in Syria ``Runs ‘Risk Defense Service’

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Tokyo - (PanOrient News) A Japanese man believed to have been detained by the so-called "Islamic State" in Syria is said to be CEO of a Japanese company called PMC that offers “risk defense and other military services,” Japanese and Arabic sources reported

The captured man, Haruna Yukawa, form Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, reportedly established PMC in January this year seeking to also provide security guards for Japanese going to unstable or war-affected areas, as well as collecting information about those areas.

Yukawa seems to have gone to Syria in March this year as well. Mr. Kimoto Nobuo, an advisor to PMC, said Yukawa was previously engaged in a business importing military goods from the US and UK and delivering them to the Japan Self Defense Forces. "I called Mr. Yukawa in early July and warned him not to go to dangerous areas again, but he did not listen. He probably wanted to build connections in war-affected areas for his business since his company was very new," Kimoto told Jiji Press.

Japanese media reported that Yukawa flew from Istanbul to Gaziantep in southern Turkey on July 27 and entered Syria the following day and associated with the so-called the Islamic Front, a militant group that is part of the opposition force opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad. On what appears to be his Facebook page, he denounces the Assad regime saying they are killing children and bombing civilians.

A person involved with PMC told Japanese media that a person involved in the management of the building that supposedly houses the company said it is not registered as a renter.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, has not announced any breakthrough in the case, and concerns over his safety are increasing.

In Tokyo, the Japanese Foreign Ministry established a task force to deal with the situation. A senior government official said that Japan plans to seek cooperation from US and European intelligence agencies.

"Islamic State" is a group of militants accused by the Syrian Free Army and other Syrian and Arab observers of being an organization established by local, regional and international spy agencies using the name of Islam to attract members and gain status and end the move of people toward establishing democracy. They have been accused of committing genocide with the aim of instilling fear among civilians and those seek an end to the corrupted oppressive dictatorships. There have been reports of beheadings and mass shootings of unarmed civilians by members of this group. Such acts have been condemned strongly in Arab and Muslim countries.

Some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East have denounced the so-called Islamic State as a "group of criminals" or "brain washed" fighters.

Photo: A photo taken from a YouTube clip uploaded by "Haruna Yukawa" showing him shooting.

PanOrient News