Anger remains over 9/11 / Families express shock, frustration over bin Laden's death

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Nearly 10 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the wounds have still not healed for Japanese families who lost relatives in the tragedy.

The Sunday announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama that Osama bin Laden had been killed near Islamabad by U.S. forces sent shock waves throughout the world. Many still have vivid memories of the 2001 attacks, in which about 3,000 people were killed in strikes on the World Trade Center and elsewhere.

"I don't know what to say. I'm so surprised," Mari Sumiyama, 71, said at her house in Meguro Ward, Tokyo. Sumiyama is the mother of Yoichi Sugiyama, an official of the now-defunct Fuji Bank who died at the age of 34 in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

Sumiyama said she feels terrible because bin Laden died without revealing the truth behind the terrorist attack.

"So many innocent people died. I wanted [bin Laden] to explain why he did such a thing. I want to know what he thought about human life," she said.

Sumiyama's family still celebrates Yoichi's birthday on Aug. 17 every year because she does not want to accept that he has died, Sumiyama said.

"I wanted [bin Laden] to tell the truth. I don't know how to sort out my feelings," said Yoichi's 73-year-old father, Kazusada.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Yoichi's eldest son, Taichi, 13, donated a school backpack to Ryuichi Kobayashi, 11, a six-grade primary school student in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, who lost his father in the disaster.

Tsugio Ito, 76, of Hiroshima, lost his 35-year-old son Kazushige, a Fuji Bank employee, in the terrorist attack.

"For the United States and international society, [bin Laden's death] may be the end of one chapter," Ito said. "But for bereaved families who have not recovered the bodies [of their loved ones], their anger and grief will never end."

"I hope the death of the leader will help reduce terrorism even a little, and that [the world] will take steps toward peace," he said.

Satsuko Anai, 78, of Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, learned of the news Monday while watching TV. Her son Kazuhiro was 42 when he died in the 9/11 attack in New York, where he was the assistant manager of the local bureau of Nishi-Nippon Bank Ltd. (now Nishi-Nippon City Bank).

"Right after the attack, I felt hatred whenever I heard the name [bin Laden]. I feel a bit of relief now, knowing he's dead," Satsuko said.

"I'd like to sit in front of the Buddhist altar [in my home] and tell my son about the news," she said. "I'd always relied on my son, and was extremely sorry to lose him."

In 2008, Kazuya Ito, then 31, was kidnapped and killed in Afghanistan, where he was working for a nongovernmental organization supporting the local agriculture industry. His father Masayuki, 63, from Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, said his family continued to feel animosity against the people responsible for Kazuya's death.

"We haven't confirmed a direct connection between Al-Qaida and the murder of my son. However, I hope bin Laden's death will help us get some answers about the case, including what the motive was," said Masayuki, who established the Ito Kazuya Nanohana Fund to aid Afghanistan in his son's memory.

Mitsuji Fukumoto, the head of Peshawar-kai--the Fukuoka-based aid organization of which Kazuya was a member--believes bin Laden's death will have little influence on events in Afghanistan.

"There is a clear line between many of the insurgents in Afghanistan, including some Taliban fighters, and the Al-Qaida network led by bin Laden. I don't think things will suddenly improve," he said.

"But if the presence of U.S. forces or international terrorism organizations wanes, things might be different," he said.