{{Short description|2004 beheading of Japanese man in Iraq}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Shosei Koda | image = Beheading japanese.jpg | native_name = {{nobold|香田 証生}} | native_name_lang = ja | image_size = | caption = Koda shortly before his beheading | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1979|11|29}} | birth_place = Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2004|10|29|1979|11|29}} | death_place = Iraq | death_cause = Beheading | body_discovered = Baghdad, Iraq | occupation = }} {{Nihongo|'''Shosei Koda'''|香田 証生|Kōda Shōsei|29 November 1979 &ndash; 29 October 2004}} was a Japanese citizen who was kidnapped while touring Iraq and later beheaded in October 2004 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was the first Japanese person beheaded in Iraq.<ref name=pravda04>{{cite news|title=Shosei Koda was the first Japanese killed in Iraq|url=http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/31-10-2004/60042-0/|accessdate=31 January 2013|newspaper=Pravda|date=31 October 2004}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Koda was born on 29 November 1979, in Nōgata, Fukuoka. Koda's parents, Setsuko Koda and Masumi Koda, were members of the United Church of Christ.<ref name="Archive">"Death Not in Vain: Son of Japanese Christian Parents Kidnapped and Killed by Militants in Baghdad." ''[http://ncc-j.org/english/jcan/2004%20Fall-Winter.pdf Japan Christian Activity News Fall/Winter 2004]''. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080725000640/http://ncc-j.org/english/jcan/2004%20Fall-Winter.pdf Archive]) National Christian Council in Japan. ISSN 0021-4353. Number 737 (Northern Hemisphere) Fall/Winter 2004. 6 (6/20). Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref> Due to Koda's family affiliation with the United Church of Christ, a cross tattoo was inscribed upon his arm.<ref>[http://1st.geocities.jp/matome83/iraq/ On the kidnapping affair of Shosei Koda (in Japanese)]</ref> The family was from Nōgata, Fukuoka, a small southern city in Japan,<ref name="ktimes04"/> and his mother was a nurse. Koda dropped out of high school in his junior year before he started working as an interior painter until 2002.<ref name=ktimes04>{{cite news |title=Shosei Koda |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayArticle.asp?col=&section=newsmakers&xfile=data/newsmakers/2004/October/newsmakers_October19.xml |accessdate=31 January 2013 |newspaper=Khaleej Times |date=31 October 2004 |agency=Agence France-Presse|location=Tokyo |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221205618/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayArticle.asp?col=&section=newsmakers&xfile=data%2Fnewsmakers%2F2004%2FOctober%2Fnewsmakers_October19.xml |archivedate=21 February 2014}}</ref>

==Kidnapping and death== Koda left Amman on 20 October 2004.<ref name=ktimes04/> He ignored advice not to travel to Iraq, and entered the country, because he was curious as to what happened there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/27/content_386218.htm |title="Japanese hostage in Iraq believed to be civilian traveler" |accessdate=2010-01-06 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041030034325/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/27/content_386218.htm |archivedate=30 October 2004}}. ''China Daily''. 27 October 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20041029a6.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110607065323/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20041029a6.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 7 June 2011|title = Was Koda just silly or was his curiosity justified? Young people have their say|date = 29 October 2004|newspaper = The Japan Times}}</ref>

Koda's captors stated that they would "treat him like his predecessors Berg and Bigley"<ref name=bbc04>{{cite news|title=Group seizes Japanese man in Iraq|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3956975.stm|access-date=31 January 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=27 October 2004}}</ref> (Bigley was murdered just weeks before by the organization, before it became known as Al Qaeda in Iraq) if Japan did not withdraw its forces from Iraq within 48 hours. The Japanese government headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi refused to comply with these demands, stating that they will not concede to terrorists.<ref>Roberts, Joel. "[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-japanese-hostage-killed/ Report: Japanese Hostage Killed]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20041104060337/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/30/iraq/main652421.shtml Archive]). ''CBS News''. 29 October 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref>

In the video sequence of Koda's murder, Koda sits on the American flag, his captors standing behind him. Koda's hands are tied behind his back. He is blindfolded while a captor reads out a statement for two minutes and ten seconds. The captors then hold him down on the ground as they begin to decapitate him. Throughout the beheading, "Erhaby Ana (English: I am a Terrorist)", a nasheed, is played. The video sequence ends with shots of Koda's severed head on top of his body followed by shots of the banner of al-Qaeda in Iraq. His body was found in Baghdad on 30 October wrapped in an American flag.<ref name=cnn1114>{{cite news|title=Beheaded Japanese to be flown home |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/31/japan.hostage/index.html |accessdate=2 November 2004 |newspaper=CNN |date=1 November 2004 |location=Tokyo |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041102014602/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/31/japan.hostage/index.html |archivedate=2 November 2004 }}</ref>

==Aftermath== Koda's body was returned to Japan.<ref name=cnn1114/> He was given a Christian funeral.<ref name="Archive"/> The events provoked mixed responses in Japan; while many Japanese citizens were angered and appalled by the murder, some blamed the victim for not heeding the travel advisory and others criticized the Koizumi administration.<ref name="Simkin">Simkin, Mark. "[http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1232527.htm Mixed reaction to Japanese beheading in Iraq]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20041110050315/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1232527.htm Archive]). ''Lateline''. 1 November 2004. Retrieved on 7 March 2011.</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Iraq|Japan}} {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Kenji Goto * Piotr Stańczak * Eugene Armstrong * Paul Marshall Johnson Jr. * Kim Sun-il * Jack Hensley * Daniel Pearl * Margaret Hassan * Seif Adnan Kanaan {{div col end}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Koda, Shosei}} Category:1979 births Category:2004 deaths Category:2004 murders in Iraq Category:Beheading videos Category:Deaths by decapitation Category:Foreign hostages in Iraq Category:Iraq–Japan relations Category:Islamism-related beheadings Category:Japanese people murdered abroad Category:Japanese people of the Iraq War Category:Japanese people taken hostage Category:Japanese terrorism victims Category:People from Nōgata, Fukuoka Category:People killed by al-Qaeda in Iraq Category:People murdered in Iraq Category:Missing person cases in Iraq Category:Terrorism deaths in Iraq