Kenji Goto
Kenji Goto | |
---|---|
後藤 健二 | |
Born | Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan | 23 October 1967
Died | 31 January 2015 | (aged 47)
Cause of death | Murder by decapitation |
Nationality | Japanese |
Alma mater | Hosei University |
Occupation | Journalist |
Years active | 1991–2015 |
Spouse | Rinko Jogo |
Children | 3 |
Parent | Junko Ishido (mother) |
Kenji Goto (後藤 健二, Gotō Kenji, 23 October 1967 – c. 31 January 2015) was a Japanese freelance video journalist covering wars and conflicts, refugees, poverty,
Biography
Goto was born on 23 October 1967 in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.[4] After graduating from Hosei University in Tokyo in 1991, he worked for a media production company before establishing Independent Press in 1996. He also worked with U.N. organizations including UNICEF and the U.N. Refugee Agency.[5]
Reporting from war-torn countries around the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East, he focused on the life and humanity of the ordinary citizens in difficult times. His works include books and DVDs on
Goto converted to Christianity in 1997,[7] and was a member of a United Church of Christ in Japan parish in Den-en-chōfu, Tokyo.[8]
In October 2014, Goto's wife, Rinko Jogo, had a baby, the couple's second child.[7] He also had an older daughter from a previous marriage.[7]
Kidnapping and beheading
Despite being warned three times by the Japanese government in September and October 2014, both by telephone and in person, not to return to Syria,
On 24 January, IS released a picture of Goto holding a photo of decapitated Haruna Yukawa. In an audiotape accompanying the picture, Goto read a message in English blaming the Japanese government for the death of his "cellmate" and claiming that IS would spare Goto's life and exchange him for
On 31 January 2015, IS released a video that showed Goto being beheaded.
Media coverage
Following the release of Goto's beheading video by IS on 31 January, many major Japanese television outlets, including
The Japanese public responded in a similar way to three Japanese citizens who were also taken hostage in Iraq. Public outrage of their naivety compelled the Japanese government to bill them for their return airfare to Japan after their release. The general public sentiment in Japan towards these hostages has been that they are to be blamed for putting themselves deliberately in harm's way, while the Japanese government and taxpayers are pressured to pay the price to get them back.[20]
Remembrance
Before Goto was murdered, a tweet he posted to
Bibliography
- Daiyamondo yori Heiwa ga Hoshii: Kodomo Heishi Muria no Kokuhaku (ダイヤモンドより平和がほしい : 子ども兵士・ムリアの告白, English translation: We Want Peace Not Diamonds: A Confession by Child Soldier Muria) (July 2005, Choubunsha Publishing), ISBN 9784811380018
- Eizu no Mura ni Umarete: Inochi o Tsunagu 16-sai no Haha Natasha (エイズの村に生まれて : 命をつなぐ16歳の母・ナターシャ, English translation: Born in an AIDS Village: 16-year-old Mother Natasha Trying to Stay Alive) (December 2007, Choubunsha Publishing), ISBN 9784811384740
- Ruwanda no Inori: Naisen o Ikinobita Kazoku no Monogatari (ルワンダの祈り : 内戦を生きのびた家族の物語, English translation: Prayers of Rwanda: The Story of a Family Surviving Civil War) (December 2008, Choubunsha Publishing), ISBN 9784811384979
- Moshimo Gakkō ni Iketara: Afuganisutan no Shōjo Mariamu no Monogatari (もしも学校に行けたら : アフガニスタンの少女・マリアムの物語, English translation: If I Could Go to School: The Story of Afghanistan Girl Mariam) (December 2009, Choubunsha Publishing), ISBN 9784811386119
See also
- ISIL beheading incidents
- Shosei Koda, a Japanese citizen kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq in 2004
- Notable Japanese Christians
- List of Christian martyrs
References
- ^ 後藤 健二 [Kenji Goto] (in Japanese). Independent Press. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Japan outraged at IS 'beheading' of hostage Kenji Goto". BBC News. BBC. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ Keleny, Anne (3 February 2015). "Kenji Goto: Journalist murdered in Syria who highlighted the horrors of war by focusing on its effects on children and families". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ Yamaguchi, Mari (22 January 2015). "How the lives of hostages Yukawa and Goto became intertwined". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Yoshida, Reiji (20 January 2015). "Islamic State threatens to kill two Japanese hostages". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Slodkowski, Antoni (21 January 2015). "Japanese reporter's bid to save friend led to Islamic State abduction". Tokyo: Reuters. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ a b Kameda, Masaaki; Otake, Tomoko (22 January 2015). "Respected journalist Goto aims to tell world of Syrians' suffering". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. p. 1. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Sekiguchi, Toko (3 February 2015). "Japan Says It Warned Goto Against Entering Syria". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ Justin, McCurry. "Mother of Japanese Isis hostage Kenji Goto makes tearful appeal". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ a b c "Goto's final days saw him swapped between Islamic State factions". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Japanese premier vows to save Islamic State group hostages". AP. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- Huffington Post. 23 January 2015. Retrieved on 2 March 2015.
- ^ McCurry, Justin (23 January 2015). "Mother of Japanese Isis hostage Kenji Goto makes tearful appeal". The Guardian. Tokyo: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (30 January 2015). "With fate of ISIS hostages in limbo, wife issues emotional plea". USA Today. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ McCurry, Justin (31 January 2015). "Isis video purports to show beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ 後藤さん30日に殺害の情報 操縦士も、ヨルダン専門家 [Goto killed on 30th, Pilot too, according to Jordanian expert]. 47 News (in Japanese). Japan: Press Net Japan Co., Ltd. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- NBC Universal. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Japan Should Not Turn Inward After ISIS Beheading". Newsweek. 26 January 2015.
- ^ Ripley, Will; Wakatsuki, Yoko (25 January 2015). "ISIS' Japanese hostages receive mixed sympathy at home". CNN. Tokyo: Cable News Network. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ GMT (7 February 2015). "'Hate Is Not What Humans Should Do': Slain Journalist Kenji Goto's Words Live On Online · Global Voices". Globalvoices.org. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
External links
- Independent Press (in Japanese)
- Kenji Goto on Twitter
- Kenji Goto at IMDb