TOKYO: The body of the last of 10 Japanese nationals killed in the Algerian hostage crisis arrived in Japan on Saturday as the prime minister proposed setting up a security council to deal with future threats.
The body of Tadanori Aratani, 66, a former vice president of engineering firm JGC, arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport on a commercial flight accompanied by vice foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi.
The seven Japanese survivors of the siege at the In Amenas gas plant in the Sahara desert and the bodies of nine of the ten dead arrived a day earlier as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke of the nation's "deepest grief".
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was at the airport on Saturday, along with JGC officials, to welcome back the body of Aratani. Flowers were laid on the coffin and mourners offered a one-minute silent prayer.
Dozens of foreigners were killed during a four-day standoff that ended in a bloody showdown with Algerian commandos last week, with reports of summary executions.
JGC employed, directly or indirectly, all the Japanese caught up in the siege.
Japan's body count of 10 is the highest of any nation whose citizens were caught up in the crisis and an unusual taste of Jihadist anger for a country that has remained far removed from US-led wars in the Muslim world.
Abe, at a meeting of his senior ministers on Friday, said the nation was in mourning for those killed, while at JGC headquarters in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, mourners paid respects in front of a makeshift altar.
In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun published on Saturday, Abe proposed setting up a national security council to enable the government to take swifter action in times of crisis.
The plan to set up a Japanese version of the US National Security Council comes after the government struggled to collect information on the fate of Japanese nationals during Algeria siege.
"The function of the prime minister's office as a control tower should be strengthened," Abe said, adding that his government may submit legislation to parliament by July.
The aim is to improve the gathering of information relating to national security, enabling the government to take swifter action to reduce potential risks to national interests and its citizens overseas.
- AFP/fa
Body of last Japanese victim in hostage crisis arrives in Tokyo
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Body of last Japanese victim in hostage crisis arrives in Tokyo
