Killing of Shosei Koda

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Template:Nihongo was a Japanese citizen who was kidnapped while touring Iraq and later beheaded in October 2004 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was the first Japanese person beheaded in Iraq.<ref name=pravda04>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life and education

Koda was born on 29 November 1979, in Nōgata, Fukuoka. Koda's parents, Setsuko Koda and Masumi Koda, were members of the United Church of Christ.<ref name="Archive">"Death Not in Vain: Son of Japanese Christian Parents Kidnapped and Killed by Militants in Baghdad." Japan Christian Activity News Fall/Winter 2004. (Archive) National Christian Council in Japan. ISSN 0021-4353. Number 737 (Northern Hemisphere) Fall/Winter 2004. 6 (6/20). Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref> Due to Koda's family affiliation with the United Church of Christ, a cross tattoo was inscribed upon his arm.<ref>On the kidnapping affair of Shosei Koda (in Japanese)</ref> The family was from Nōgata, Fukuoka, a small southern city in Japan,<ref name="ktimes04"/> and his mother was a nurse. Koda dropped out of high school in his junior year before he started working as an interior painter until 2002.<ref name=ktimes04>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kidnapping and death

Koda left Amman on 20 October 2004.<ref name=ktimes04/> He ignored advice not to travel to Iraq, and entered the country, because he was curious as to what happened there.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. China Daily. 27 October 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Koda's captors stated that they would "treat him like his predecessors Berg and Bigley"<ref name=bbc04>Template:Cite news</ref> (Bigley was murdered just weeks before by the organization, before it became known as Al Qaeda in Iraq) if Japan did not withdraw its forces from Iraq within 48 hours. The Japanese government headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi refused to comply with these demands, stating that they will not concede to terrorists.<ref>Roberts, Joel. "Report: Japanese Hostage Killed" (Archive). CBS News. 29 October 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref>

In the video sequence of Koda's murder, Koda sits on the American flag, his captors standing behind him. Koda's hands are tied behind his back. He is blindfolded while a captor reads out a statement for two minutes and ten seconds. The captors then hold him down on the ground as they begin to decapitate him. Throughout the beheading, "Erhaby Ana (English: I am a Terrorist)", a nasheed, is played. The video sequence ends with shots of Koda's severed head on top of his body followed by shots of the banner of al-Qaeda in Iraq. His body was found in Baghdad on 30 October wrapped in an American flag.<ref name=cnn1114>Template:Cite news</ref>

Aftermath

Koda's body was returned to Japan.<ref name=cnn1114/> He was given a Christian funeral.<ref name="Archive"/> The events provoked mixed responses in Japan; while many Japanese citizens were angered and appalled by the murder, some blamed the victim for not heeding the travel advisory and others criticized the Koizumi administration.<ref name="Simkin">Simkin, Mark. "Mixed reaction to Japanese beheading in Iraq" (Archive). Lateline. 1 November 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref>

See also

• Kenji Goto
• Piotr Stańczak
• Eugene Armstrong
• Paul Marshall Johnson Jr.
• Kim Sun-il
• Jack Hensley
• Daniel Pearl
• Margaret Hassan
• Seif Adnan Kanaan