‘I will die out here somewhere’: the Japanese man supporting terrorist deradicalisation efforts at risk of death

Yosuke Nagai, 31, has spent the last decade in war-torn countries such as Somalia and Yemen, helping young men leave terrorist groups

His Tokyo-based non-profit Accept International runs a ‘surrender hotline’, offering refuge to those trying to escape terrorist groups

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Yosuke Nagai of Accept International. Sometimes Nagai must wear a bulletproof vest, and he always carries emergency medical supplies with him, such as a haemostatic agent used to stop wounds from bleeding. Photo: Facebook/Accept International

Published: 7:00pm, 25 Apr 2023

For Yosuke Nagai, a typical office day involves working in some of the world’s most dangerous places, where his organisation tries to turn violent extremists’ lives around through deradicalisation programmes.

Nagai, 31, is the representative director of Japanese non-profit Accept International, and has spent the last decade in war-torn countries such as Somalia in Africa and Yemen in the Middle East, helping young men leave terrorist groups.

Nagai knows that his job entails the distinct possibility he may be killed.

“My sense of duty to fulfil my mission wins out (over the fear of death),” he says, having released a book in Japanese in February about his ambition to “break the chains of hatred” between people in armed conflict zones around the world.

Accept International operates primarily in Somalia, Yemen, Kenya and Indonesia. Photo: Facebook/Accept International

In Somalia, Nagai often travels to prearranged rendezvous points in armoured vehicles to meet men seeking refuge, having usually fled from war zones.

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