Nobuhisa Nakajima and three other Japanese mining engineers sent to the Republic of Kyrgyz by the Japan International Cooperation Agency to conduct a mineral exploration development study were released unharmed on October 25 after having been taken hostage on August 23. Following medical checks at Tokyo hospitals, they called on Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence to report their return. Shaking hands and expressing sympathy for their ordeal, the Prime Minister said, "You were working for the development of Central Asia. What happened to you was highly regrettable and must never be allowed to recur."