Japan pumping money into Asia-Pacific’s terror fight

Amid a growing terror threat in other parts of the world, Japan has been dealing with limited terrorist activity so far. A notorious case of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo is a matter of the past, while homegrown jihadist radicalization is negligible. And yet, being an island of safety in a stormy sea is no less of a challenge for the Land of the Rising Sun.

Throughout the past decades, terrorist incidents affecting Japanese nationals or interests have occurred abroad. In a statement aired in 2003, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, identified Japan as a potential target.

Twelve years later, at a time when the Islamic State gained global prominence, the nation faced a great tragedy. In 2015, ISIS militants took hostage and beheaded two Japanese nationals in Syria, one of whom, Kenji Goto, was a freelance journalist.

As of today, many experts believe that a protracted armed conflict between Israel and Hamas will play a pivotal role in shaping the terrorist threat landscape in 2024. The ongoing hostilities may fuel terrorist plots and assaults outside the area of conflict, encouraging small cells and lone wolf actors to attack targets associated with one of the sides.

Just as important is a menace originating from ISIS. The Islamic State caliphate in Syria collapsed five years ago, but make no mistake: The group is still alive and active. To date, the jihadist organization has around 20 branches and networks operating in Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia and in the Middle East. As for Asia, ISIS extremist ideology remains particularly entrenched in the Philippines and Indonesia.

In a global fight against extremism, Japan stepped up to the plate by providing aid to international counterterrorism