SOLVEDListenBaghdad, Iraq · 2000s
Abduction of Russian Diplomats in Iraq
In June 2006, insurgents ambushed a Russian Embassy car in Baghdad, killing one guard and abducting four staff who were later killed by their captors.
What happened
Shosei Koda was a Japanese citizen born on 29 November 1979 in Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan. His parents, Setsuko and Masumi Koda, were members of the United Church of Christ, and Koda had a cross tattoo reflecting this family affiliation. He dropped out of high school during his junior year and worked as an interior painter until 2002.
In October 2004, Koda traveled to Iraq despite advisories against such travel, reportedly out of curiosity about the situation in the country. He departed Amman, Jordan, on 20 October 2004 and entered Iraq, where he was subsequently kidnapped by a militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an organization that later became known as al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Koda's captors demanded that Japan withdraw its military forces from Iraq within 48 hours, threatening to "treat him like his predecessors Berg and Bigley" — a reference to two other foreign hostages who had been murdered by the same organization in the weeks prior. The Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, refused to comply, stating it would not concede to terrorist demands.
The captors released a video documenting Koda's killing. In the footage, Koda is shown seated on an American flag with his hands bound behind his back and blindfolded, while a captor reads a statement lasting approximately two minutes and ten seconds. The captors then held him down and beheaded him while a nasheed titled "Erhaby Ana" ("I am a Terrorist") played and the captors shouted "Allahu Akbar." The video concludes with footage of Koda's severed head placed on his body, followed by the banner of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Koda's body was found in Baghdad on 30 October 2004, wrapped in an American flag. He was the first Japanese person to be beheaded in Iraq. His remains were returned to Japan, where he was given a Christian funeral.
The killing provoked mixed reactions within Japan. While many citizens expressed anger and shock over the murder, some public commentary placed blame on Koda himself for disregarding travel warnings, while others directed criticism toward the Koizumi administration's handling of the crisis.
