Japanese doctor abducted in Ethiopia freed, safe in Kenya

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PARIS, Jan. 8 Kyodo -
A female Japanese doctor and a male Dutch nurse abducted by an armed group in
Ethiopia in September were freed Wednesday and in a safe location, the
Paris-based medical aid group Doctors of the World said.
Japan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed the release of Keiko Akahane,
32, and said she looked fine and was not injured. A senior ministry official,
who asked not to be named, said Akahane was in Nairobi as of Thursday morning
Japan time after being freed in Somalia.
Japanese Ambassador to Kenya Shigeo Iwatani met Akahane on her arrival at
Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and she responded sturdily when
asked to confirm her identity, the senior official said.
The ministry said she was then taken to a facility of the aid group in the city.
A source linked with the kidnappers told local reporters that the armed group
released Akahane and Dutch nurse Wilhem Sools because it had received a large
amount of ransom money, but did not say how much or who paid it.
In Tokyo, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Shintaro Ito denied at a news
conference that the Japanese government had paid a ransom.
However, he refused to comment on the possibility that a ransom had been paid
by other parties without the government's involvement, saying, ''We are not in
a position to comment on whether that was done or not.''
Earlier on Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone released a
statement saying, ''I am pleased from the bottom of my heart for the people
concerned. I condemn the abduction as a dirty crime and stress anew that it
cannot be justified for any reason.''
Nakasone said Japan will cooperate with the international community to help
attain peace in Somalia, where abductions and other crimes are rife amid a
state of anarchy.
Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura deplored the kidnapping and
emphasized the need for efforts to prevent such kidnappings.
Expressing his understanding of the importance of nongovernmental
organizations' activities in areas of instability, Kawamura, the top Japanese
government spokesman, again urged NGO members to be aware of possible dangers.
In Tokyo, Gael Austin, president of Doctors of the World Japan, said he is very
happy at the news that Akahane and Sools have been freed.
Austin said Akahane must be very tired due to her long detention and that his
group calls for the early release of all people detained in Somalia.
The group announced in Paris on Thursday that the two are healthy despite
losing weight and it quoted Akahane as saying following her release that it was
just like a dream.
Akahane's mother, Chieko, and other members of her family are expected to
depart for Paris on Friday to meet her.
Akahane, a graduate student of Nagasaki University, and Sools were abducted
Sept. 22, 2008, in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia, about 80 kilometers
from the Somali border, while working as aid workers for the group.
According to the French aid group, the two were transferred to Somalia after
the kidnapping and were taken to different locations within the country.
War-torn Somalia has been in a state of anarchy since 1991 and kidnappings of
foreigners for ransom have become common.
The armed group initially demanded the release of prisoners in Ethiopia, but a
man claiming to be its leader told Kyodo News by telephone on Oct. 31 that the
group was demanding a ransom of $3 million.
The Japanese government remained relatively low-key throughout the process,
letting the aid group take charge of the negotiations for the release of the
two hostages and providing only ''indirect support'' to the group when
necessary, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Despite some criticism that the ministry should have played a more active role,
ministry officials defended their approach, saying the top priority was to
secure Akahane's safety and that it was necessary to avoid unnecessarily
provoking the kidnappers.
==Kyodo