NYTimes | In
Japan, where conformity takes precedence over individuality, one of the
most important values is to avoid "meiwaku" — causing trouble for
others. And sympathy aside, the two Japanese purportedly slain by the
Islamic State group are now widely viewed as troublemakers.
So
is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Many Japanese feel that if the hostages
had not ignored warnings against travel to Syria, or if Abe had not
showcased Tokyo's support for the multinational coalition against the
Islamic State militants, Japan wouldn't have been exposed to this new
sense of insecurity and unwelcomed attention from Islamic extremists.
"To
be honest, they caused tremendous trouble to the Japanese government
and to the Japanese people. In the old days, their parents would have
had to commit hara-kiri (ritual suicide) to apologize," said Taeko
Sakamoto, a 64-year-old part-time worker, after first expressing
sympathy over the deaths of Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa.
Sakamoto
also sees Abe as part of the problem, for not being more mindful of the
risks at a time when he had already been pushing to expand Japan's
military role, which is limited to its own self-defense under the
U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution after its defeat in World War II.
"I
don't want Mr. Abe to do anything else that may be seen as provocation,
because that's what would put us at a greater risk," Sakamoto said.
