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Despite having been held at gunpoint, threatened with knives and held captive for nine days, two Japanese men who were kidnapped in Iraq expressed sympathy for their captors yesterday, calling them soldiers and resistance fighters.

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Two Japanese civilians who came home to a storm of criticism after being held captive in Iraq admitted on Friday they may have been ill-prepared for the danger but denied their actions had been irresponsible. 　Noriaki Imai, an 18-year-old high school graduate, and freelance photographer Soichiro Koriyama, 32, were captured by militants who threatened to kill them unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq. Also taken captive was aid worker Nahoko Takato, 34, who is said to be suffering from stress and did not appear at Friday’s news conference.

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