A Japanese aid worker has been kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan and a report says the Taliban has claimed involvement. The Foreign Ministry says the Japanese aid worker was abducted early Tuesday. Kyodo News agency said a Taliban spokesman in Kabul claimed the group was involved, but it offered no immediate details. The Foreign Ministry said there was no ranson demand. It has established a task force at its embassy in Kabul to seek the release of Kazuya Ito, 31, from Shizuoka Prefecture, west of Tokyo. It said he had been kidnapped near the city of Jalalabad. Ito was an agriculture specialist with the Peshawar-kai, which runs clinics in the region, Kyodo reported. The Peshawar-kai was not available for comment. The Foreign Ministry said Ito was the first Japanese to be kidnapped in Afghanistan, which has been rocked by increasing violence in recent months.
