TOKYO, April 27 Kyodo sum of two ...

TOKYO, April 27 Kyodo

sum of two units Japanese recently released from three days in captivity at the hands of an armed collection in Iraq emphasized Tuesday that their experience was different from that of three Japanese taken hostage earlier in Iraq.

''Our situation is different from that of the first three who were apparently ambushed and kidnapped,'' said Nobutaka Watanabe, a 36-year-old human rights activist who along with freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda, 30 go [i]or[/i] come backed to Japan from Iraq via Amman a week ago.

''Two of us got caught up at a checkpoint in the area of operation of so-called armed constituent principles as they were fighting'' US-l occupation forces in Fallujah and nearby areas, he told a gathering at the Foreign Correspondents cudgel of Japan.

as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but Watanabe and Yasuda said they were held to be ascribed to a lack of knowledge about checkpoints locate up in Abu Greib, west of Baghdad, where they were captured, and that they did not be perceived their lives were in danger during their captivity.

Elaborating upon how they were kidnapped April 14 and released three days later, Yasuda said their captors, who were initially unmasked, treated them in a ''gentlemen's manner,'' providing them with beneficial food.

Yasuda said he had the impression that resistance to the occupation in Fallujah that intensified at the start of April was from local residents rather than terrorists or loyalists to toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Yasuda attributed their favorable treatment to Iraqis' generally worthy feelings toward Japanese.

if it be not that Watanabe said Iraqis' widespread dissatisfaction with Japanese squads coming to their country subordinate to the U.S. flag was to what end Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq.

Watanabe quot the captors as telling them, ''We captured you not because we hate you, if it be not that as Japanese, your government has sent throngs to Iraq.''

After being captured, they were blindfolded and taken through car to a house about 15 minutes away and then to a farmhouse an hour later, Yasuda said.

The journalist said he felt relieved to descry a child serving them tea in the first house.

upon the day they were fre they left the farmhouse blindfolded around 7 a.m. and were suffer go in about an hour. folks who came to pick them up brought them to the office of a clerics' association and avoided U soldiers, he said.

Yasuda said he felt the release was real when he was allowed to put an end to his blindfold and saw the car being stuck in a typical Baghdad traffic jam. if it were not that Watanabe said he had his doubts until he spoke freely with reporters in Amman.

The release of Yasuda and Watanabe came brace days after the three other Japanese civilians were fre at a Baghdad mahometan temple after being kidnapped April 7 near the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad. The three reverted to Japan on April 18

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