Iraq hostages: Cheney backs Japan
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| RELATED |
• Iraq toll rises on both sides
• Family vigil for U.S. hostage
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| IRAQ HOSTAGE INCIDENTS | Currently held:
3 Japanese abducted Thursday; deadline has come and gone; contradictory reports on progress
7 Chinese kidnapped Sunday in central Iraq while traveling from Jordan to Baghdad
2 Arabs (from Canada and Jerusalem)
Thomas Hamill, U.S. contractor, possibly abducted Friday near Baghdad; deadline for demands from hijackers has come and gone
Missing:
2 Germans attacked Wednesday while driving from Jordan to Baghdad; presumed dead
Released:
1 British citizen, Gary Teeley, released Sunday
7 South Koreans kidnapped last Thursday have been released
Possibly released:
8 civilians from Pakistan, India, Philippines and Turkey, said to be truck drivers; no independent confirmation of release, but Al Jazeera said they were being freed
Unknown:
2 U.S. soldiers and 4 civilian contractors: sources told CNN they were "unaccounted for" on Friday
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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has praised Japan's prime minister for resisting pressure to pull his country's troops from Iraq despite the kidnapping of three civilians there.
Cheney was speaking on Monday after meeting Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo in a session overshadowed by violence and the holding of foreign hostages in Iraq, including the three Japanese, seven Chinese, two Arabs and one American.
Koizumi's government has refused to bow to the captor's demands that it withdraw its 550 ground troops who are performing humanitarian missions in Iraq, part of an eventual deployment of 1,100 non-combat troops.
"We wholeheartedly support the position the prime minister has taken with respect to the question of the Japanese hostages," Cheney told reporters.
He added that Washington had "consulted closely with the prime minister and his government to make sure we do everything we can to be of assistance."
Analysts say any wavering by Japan in the face of the worst violence in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein a year ago could result in a broader retreat by coalition partners.
The kidnapping of the Japanese civilians by Iraqi militants has complicated Cheney's visit to Japan, his first stop on a weeklong trip to Asia, including stops in China and South Korea.
All three nations he is visiting have seen citizens kidnapped in Iraq.
Iraqi militants abducted the men Thursday, who said they would burn them alive if Japan did not pull its forces from Iraq by Sunday but that deadline came and went with no word on their fate.
On Monday anti-war demonstrators held a rally outside Koizumi's official residence in Tokyo, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Japanese troops from Iraq to pave the way for the release of the kidnapped civilians.
Optimism that the three Japanese being held hostage would be quickly released evaporated Monday, as Japan's Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa said there was no reason to believe that they had been set free.
The Japanese prime minister has remained steadfast in his statements since the hostages were taken last week, insisting he would not give into terrorists.
Symbolic support
Koizumi was one of President Bush's earliest and staunchest allies in the Iraq war, and Cheney had planned to use this visit to thank him for that support.
"We are deeply appreciative of the work we do together all over the globe," Cheney said. "We especially appreciate Japan's role in helping the global war on terror, their work with us in Afghanistan and Iraq, the fact that the have taken on significant responsibilities during those endeavors."
Initially, the prime minister's early support was only symbolic, but late last year he agreed to send 1,100 troops for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes. Half of the promised contingent is currently in Iraq.
It was the first time Japan had sent any troops abroad since World War II and polls show the country is split over the decision.
Before Monday's meeting with Koizumi, Cheney was greeted by about 200 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and quoted former U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield, who called the United States and Japan the "most bilateral relationship in the world."
"The fact that it is so important is reflected, obviously in the growth and our cooperation on economic matters and trade, as well as our mutual efforts with respect to national security issues, to the war on terror, and working to improve the situation not only here in the Asia-Pacific region, but around the world," Cheney said.
North Korea's nuclear program is also high on the agenda. Japan and the United States are part of ongoing six-party talks to try to get Pyongyang to freeze its nuclear programs.
The United States has pressed for a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program
Cheney will meet Tuesday with Japanese Emperor Akihito and deliver a speech marking the 150th anniversary of the first U.S-Japan treaty, before heading to China and then South Korea.
CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash contributed to this report.
