> People who place such a concern about saving or not spending tax money as
if a single chartered plane or a
> week of late night meetings mattered, should encourage the premature
deaths of those 65 or over or demand
> people take care of their own elderly relatives at home out of pocket
including medical expenses, or demand
> that every prefecture in Japan including Osaka, not depend on Tokyo for
financial support. Cutting social
> security and prefectural assistance to zero would be almost exactly what
is required for Japanese revenues
> to equal expenditures without having to depend on public debt for 38% of
the total.


Of course, "hostage taking" can be quite different, and I am sure that the
government would spent huge amounts to resolve the problem... if
fundamentalist muslims highjack a jumbo jet with 500 Japanese on board and
threaten to blow themselves and the hostages up if their demands aren't met.
In this case you could also see the SDF out of Iraq within a few days!
If the government refuses, the conservative parties are dead meat afterward.
The 3 hostages are small in numbers, and they have virtually "begged" to get
into such a situation.
The incurred loss of tax payers money is probably insignificant compared to
squandered money on unused and stopped highway constructions, but it is a
principle not to waste a single yen on irresponsible people.
Having slapped the entire costs of the rescue mission upon them would
prevent them from going back to Iraq again. I hope that the Japanese
government decrees that any further hostages will have to be on their own
without government interference.
Warnings like the 13 that were issued before should be sufficient. Stupidity
or willingly risking dangerous stunts can lead to premature death. Everybody
can determine his/her fate whenever they think it's OK.

Sigi