Poll: 79 Percent of Japanese - Sending Troops to Iraq Will Increase Terror

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA5M0ZXNND.html

Poll Shows 79 Percent of Japanese Believe Sending Troops to Iraq Will Increase Terror Threat
The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Most Japanese hold deep reservations about plans to send non-combat troops to Iraq, according to an opinion poll released Monday after two of its diplomats were shot to death there.
About 79 percent of respondents believe sending troops to help rebuild Iraq would make Japan a greater target of terrorism, the poll conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper showed. It also found support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was plunging. <snip>

Fears about being made a target rose two weeks ago when an alleged al-Qaida operative, Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj, warned that Tokyo "is the easiest place to destroy." He reportedly made the threat in an e-mail statement sent to the London-based Al-Majalla newspaper.
In the Mainichi Shimbun poll, more than 80 percent said they had reservations about sending troops to Iraq. Forty percent said a deployment should occur only after the security situation stabilizes, while 43 percent were against any deployment regardless of timing. <snip>

Japan is a very trusting and self-policing society. Security is very lax on the whole. That's one thing that makes living here great. People are largely pacifistic and low crime rates lead to a lower police presence. And the Japanese have seen more than their share of the horrors of war. It would be an absolute tragedy if the terrorists struck here. Hopefully the leaders of this country will listen to their people.

The amount of people packed into a small space is amazing in Japan. Set off a bomb (dirty, biological or conventional) in the middle of Shibuya and prepare to see the casualty count hit the 10's of thousands. You are absolutely right about the lax security. It is a safe country, and I would hate to see it ruined by a terrorist event. As much as I like Japan, I can see it becoming VERY racist and isolationist in a response to terrorism.