Shinichiro Nakajima Yomiuri Shimbun
Correspondent
SAO PAULO--Two Japanese and two Paraguayans were kidnapped Sunday
in southeastern Paraguay by a group of armed men who later demanded
150,000 dollars (18 million yen) in ransom, the Paraguayan national
police said Monday.
The two Japanese are Hirokazu Ota, 62, president of a
Paraguay-based land management company called Victoria, and his
female secretary, Sawako Yamaguchi, 37.
The group, which was armed with automatic weapons, allegedly
stopped their vehicle by pretending to conduct a military
inspection on Sunday afternoon in Caaguazu, more than 100
kilometers east of the capital, Asuncion, according to the
police.
The other two abductees are a Paraguayan police officer and his
girlfriend, who happened to be passing the scene in a separate
vehicle.
The officer managed to contact the police before being taken away
with his girlfriend by the gunmen. They are still missing.
Ota and Yamaguchi, who both live in Paraguay, reportedly were on
their way back to Asuncion after checking land in the Caaguazu
region. They also attended a meeting held near the region,
according to witnesses.
The suspects got out of the van in a suburb of Asuncion--where a
road inspection was being held--and fled the scene. Police believe
the van was used in a previous kidnapping.
Ota's company, Victoria, is reportedly affiliated with the Holy
Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity,
better known as the Unification Church. The company in Asuncion
manages the association's properties in Paraguay.
According to locals, a series of kidnappings targeting
entrepreneurs have recently been reported in the area.
In Paraguay, a rancher from Saitama was gunned down in 2005, while
a Japanese engineer was killed by car thieves in 1996.
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Christian group investigating
The Yomiuri Shimbun
In response to the kidnapping in Paraguay, the Holy Spirit
Association for the U nification of World Christianity's Japan
headquarters in Tokyo is contacting i ts members in the South
American country about the two Japanese abductees, who b oth belong
to the association. According to the public relations section of
the association, which is based inS hibuya Ward, Tokyo, Hirokazu
Ota used to be a senior official of an a ssociation-related entity
and is now operating the company in Asuncion. Sawako Y amaguchi is
currently working for Ota's company. "We should leave the case to
local police. We heard that the suspects asked fora
ransom," a spokesman said. "We'd like to refrain from commenting on
the matteru ntil they're released."
(Apr. 11, 2007)