Cheney promises to help Japan on hostage crisis

Policemen stand guard as protesters stage an anti-war rally in Iraq in front of the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo, yesterday. Three Japanese civilians kidnapped in Iraq are still being held hostage and the government has no information indicating their possible release, a senior Japanese foreign ministry official told AFP Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Cheney's pledge came in a near two-hour meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi amid mounting fears for the lives of the three civilian, who have been threatened with execution unless Tokyo pulls its troops out of Iraq.

"We the United States promise to make every effort to resolve the situation," a foreign ministry official quoted Cheney as telling Koizumi after the premier expressed his appreciation for US cooperation over the crisis.

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Japan's government said Monday it had yet to receive any information about the hostages, humanitarian volunteers Noriaki Imai, 18, and Nahoko Takato, 34, and 32-year-old photojournalist Soichiro Koriyama.

The three, who were abducted last week, are believed to be held in Fallujah, the strife-torn Sunni Muslim stronghold west of Baghdad by kidnappers calling themselves the "Mujahedeen Brigades."

The group said last week the hostages would be killed unless Japan withdrew its 550 troops carrying out humanitarian work in Iraq by late Sunday.

On Friday the US State Department said it was working with the Japanese government to locate the hostages as Koizumi immediately rejected the militants' demands, despite pleas from distrught relatives.

Cheney on Monday welcomed the contribution of Japanese troops based near the southern city of Samawa towards Iraqi reconstruction, the official said.

"We appreciate Japan's efforts in Iraq," he quoted the vice-president as saying. "It is very important."

Hopes were raised for the release of the three late Saturday after Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite TV said they would be freed within 24 hours.But throughout Sunday Japan received no word about them, leaving anguished relatives on tenterhooks.