Japan launches new anti-terror unit

TOKYO: Japan is launching a new diplomatic unit this week to collect and analyze information on international terrorism, the government said Monday, in light of attacks on its citizens overseas and global assaults including those last month in Paris.

The beheading of two Japanese citizens earlier this year, claimed by the Islamic State group, and the deaths of 10 others in a hostage crisis in Algeria in 2013 have highlighted the vulnerability of Japanese people abroad.