Japanese PM deeply angry, condemns 'outrageous' killing of Jordanian pilot

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he was deeply angry over the “outrageous” killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was apparently burnt to death by Islamic State militants, and repeated Japan’s resolve not to give in to terrorism. [caption id=“attachment_1608431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. AFP[/caption] The militants released a video on Tuesday appearing to show the captured Jordanian pilot being burnt alive in a cage. “I feel an intense sense of anger and outrage upon hearing that the Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh was horrifically burned to death,” Abe said in parliament. “This is an outrageous act of violence and I strongly, adamantly condemn it.” Japan is in mourning for two of its citizens killed by the militants over recent days. The militants said on Sunday they had beheaded Japanese journalist Kenji Goto after international efforts in cooperation with Jordan to secure his release through a prisoner swap failed. They killed another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, a week earlier. Abe said he sympathised with Jordan and expressed his solidarity with its government and people. He said he would increase Japan’s humanitarian support to the region. “Japan will not bow to terrorism. I am resolved to fulfil my commitments to fight terrorism by working with the international community and expanding humanitarian aid,” he said. The killing of the two Japanese citizens have fanned calls for Japan’s long-constrained military to be allowed to conduct overseas rescue missions as part of Abe’s push for a more muscular security posture. [ID:nL4N0VB08R] Even some advocates of legal changes to make rescues possible, however, say Japan’s military faces big hurdles to acquiring the capacity to conduct such missions, while critics say sending troops overseas would just increase the risk. Reuters