The parents of murdered hostage Shosei Koda

Shuzen Tanigawa, senior vice foreign minister and leader of a government task force in Amman that tried to free the 24-year-old, was among the roughly 400 people who attended the funeral services.

Koda's mother, Setsuko, 50, tearfully told the congregation, "Shosei's soul will never come home until there is peace in Iraq."

Koda's kidnappers had threatened to behead him in 48 hours unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq. The government immediately rejected the demand. Koda's decapitated body was found in Baghdad on Oct. 30.

An Islamic terrorist group claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement posted on a Web site Nov. 2.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 13, 2004
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