A Japanese broadcaster voiced anger and apologised on Tuesday after sponsoring a weekend concert where a rock band played the Internet video showing the beheading of a Japanese hostage in Iraq.
The sponsor of the event, Tokyo Broadcasting System, said it had no forewarning of the stunt. “Showing this kind of video in public can never be forgiven on humanitarian grounds,” the network said in a statement.
“As the sponsor, we offer deep apologies to the family of (Shosei) Koda, people who came to the concert and other people concerned,” the statement said, without naming the band that showed the video.
Footage of Islamic militants decapitating 24-year-old backpacker Shosei Koda was shown on a large screen during the concert on Sunday in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, which hosts Tokyo Disneyland.
Klack, a Japanese band that was one of 12 groups in the concert, showed the video for more than 10 minutes, local media reported.
Koda, described as a gentle but naive young man, became Japan’s only hostage executed in Iraq after travelling to Baghdad as a tourist.
{{/usCountry}}Koda, described as a gentle but naive young man, became Japan’s only hostage executed in Iraq after travelling to Baghdad as a tourist.
{{/usCountry}}An Al-Qaeda-linked group associated with Iraq’s most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, on October 26 posted a video on the Internet demanding that Japan pull its troops out of Iraq within 48 hours, a demand rejected by Tokyo. A week later, the group released footage of three men beheading Koda.