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| Japan Increases Check on Muslims |
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| A_Stranger |
| 12/25/03 at 09:25:37 |
| [size=1]Thursday, December 25, 2003[/size] [size=3][color=Black]Japan Increases Check on Muslims[/size][/color] [i]Source: DailyTimes[/i] TOKYO: Japan has begun strengthening its surveillance of Muslim communities to counter the threat of a domestic terror attack, according to an intelligence report obtained on Wednesday. Tokyo was cited last month by the Al Qaeda terror network as a potential target if the government follows through on plans to send military troops to Iraq. The Public Security Intelligence Agency said it became necessary to watch more closely for signs of international terrorist movements after that warning was issued. “Recognizing that members of Islamic extremist groups could try to disguise themselves among the Islamic communities established in our country ... we have increased surveillance activities for signs of Islamic extremism or support for international terrorist groups domestically,” the agency said in an annual report released on Tuesday. The agency said it had formed a special surveillance group comprised of personnel from its investigative division to beef up scrutiny. It did not elaborate on what measures had been taken. The agency, a division of the Justice Ministry, can request for controls to be imposed on suspect groups and their activities restricted. It is generally not authorized to seize evidence or search houses. The government didn’t provide details on Japan’s Muslim community, which is believed to be small. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has emphasized that the some 1,000 non-combat military personnel to be sent to Iraq will be on a humanitarian mission. But many Japanese oppose the dispatch, fearing it could lead to terrorist strikes inside the country. Those anxieties were fueled by the warning late November from Al Qaeda, carried by the London-based Arabic-language weekly Al-Majallah. They were further exacerbated after two Japanese diplomats were killed by gunmen in Iraq later that month. —AP |
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