And this is from December 13 ...
Japan will deport several foreign residents with suspected links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks if it feels the nation is in danger of becoming a target of terrorist attacks. The government has a suspect list of several men from Africa and other parts of Asia who mainly live in the Tokyo area.
| That's one of those things about Japan: when they say "y'ain't from around here, are yew?" they really mean it. |
The deportation move is aimed at minimizing the risk of an attack given al-Qaeda’s recent warnings that Tokyo would be targeted if Japan sends troops to Iraq. The government on Tuesday approved plans to send the Self-Defense Forces troops to help rebuild Iraq, but any terrorist incident in Japan could undermine the plan and hence threaten the fate of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s administration.
| Which'd be the entire objective: replace Koizumi, who was born with testicles, with somebody like the SKors have, who wasn't... |
"We have to eliminate any cause of terror at an early stage," one official said.
| So dump them now. Don't wait. |
Public concern about sending the troops has grown since the Nov. 29 assassination of two Japanese diplomats in northern Iraq. Public security authorities have not found any evidence that the men on the government’s watch list are directly associated with al-Qaeda or its Southeast Asia-based affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah, but have been tracking them and observed some suspicious behavior. Most of the residents are believed to be staying illegally in Japan, but the authorities are currently only tracing them to build up a broader picture of their network.
| Ahhh... That's why they haven't dumped them yet... |
The government will expel them for violating the immigration law, however, and provide related information to destination countries if evidence of an actual terrorism plot is received from the United States or other parties. The government will set up a team next month to tighten immigration and customs controls in readiness for possible terrorist attacks on Japan. The team will consist of up to 20 officials of the National Police Agency, the Japan Coast Guard, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry. |