Japanese protesters demand a withdrawal from Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-09 13:51

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrives at his official residence in Tokyo on April 9, 2004. The kidnapping of three Japanese citizens by an armed group in Iraq has put Koizumi in a tight spot as it is certain to fuel calls for a review of a controversial Japanese troop deployment there. (Reuters) Demonstrators holding a banner call for the withdrawal of Japanese forces from Iraq in front of the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo April 9, 2004. Calls for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to bring home Japan's non-combat troops are growing after the kidnapping of three Japanese civilians. [Reuters] A demonstrator holds a sign demanding Japan to withdraw its troops from Iraq in front of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's official residence in Tokyo April 9, 2004. [Reuters] Naoko Imai, mother of Noriaki Imai, 18, one of three Japanese civilians kidnapped in Iraq, puts a handkerchief to her nose during a meeting with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi in Tokyo April 9, 2004. Families of the kidnapped urged the government to withdraw its troops from Iraq. [Reuters] Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi enters a meeting room for talks with family members of three Japanese civilians kidnapped in Iraq, in Tokyo April 9, 2004. Families of the kidnapped urged the government to withdraw its troops from Iraq. [Reuters] Undated file photos show the three Japanese civilians taken hostage on April 8, 2004 by an Iraqi group. From left to right, Noriaki Imai, 18, Nahoko Takato, 34, and Soichiro Koriyama, 32. A previously unknown Iraqi group released a video of the hostages on Thursday and vowed to "burn them alive" if Japanese troops did not leave Iraq within three days. [Reuters]