Japan to fund $15.5 mn to fighting terrorism in Mideast, Africa

The Japanese government is allocating USD 15.5 million in assistance to fight terrorism, in the wake of the brutal beheading of two Japanese nationals by ISIL Takfiri militants.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration announced in a statement on Tuesday that the aid is part of Japan’s effort to support “counter-terrorism capacity” in Middle East and Africa, including border control.

Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama would unveil the details of the aid in a global counter-terrorism conference slated to be held later this week in Washington.

The amount doubles the USD 7.5 million in assistance that Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida vowed for the international fight against terrorism during a visit to Brussels in January.

He was in Brussels to meet with top EU officials, to discuss political and free trade agreement with the 28-member bloc. The earlier aid by Japan came before the brutal killing of two Japanese nationals Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa by the Takfiri ISIL group in Syria, who held the duo hostage before killing them.

The hostage crisis and the subsequent beheadings came after the Japanese premier announced that his administration plans to allocate around USD 200 million to the Middle Eastern countries fighting the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group.

The ISIL terrorist group, with members from several Western countries, controls swathes of land in Iraq and Syria. The terrorists have been trained by the CIA in Jordan since 2012 to fight the Syrian government.

The group has been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.