Japanese men questioned about plan to join group

Japanese police questioned a university student and several others on Monday about suspected plans to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group, news reports said.

The reported investigation by the Tokyo police would be the first indication of possible support within Japan for the militant group.

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the reports.

Public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News service said investigators questioned a 26-year-old male Hokkaido University student and several men who shared a house with him on suspicion they were preparing to go to Syria to fight.

Investigators believe that the student, who is on a leave of absence from school, responded to a poster at a bookstore in downtown Tokyo offering positions for "work in Syria", Kyodo said. It quoted investigators as saying the student admitted he had planned to join IS. The police have not found records of any travel there, the report said.

NHK and Kyodo said the police searched the house and the bookstore but did not formally arrest the men.

In Japan, the penalty for someone convicted of preparing for private combat is up to five years in jail.

In August, a Japanese citizen believed to be Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old private military company operator, was kidnapped in Syria, and is believed to be in captivity. His reason for going to Syria remains unclear. The Foreign Ministry is believed to be working to win his release, but has declined to give any details.

Singaporeans join IS

At least two known Singaporean citizens have gone to Syria to fight for the Islamic State, although their exact whereabouts are unknown, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Tuesday.

Teo told Parliament that the authorities in Singapore will continue to investigate anyone who expresses support for terrorism or an interest in pursuing violence.

He said the escalation of violence in Syria and Iraq over the last three months and the expansion of the Islamic State threat beyond the two countries' borders have raised the threat posed to Singapore.

AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 10/08/2014 page12)