Japan yesterday sought help from Jordan and other nations in its bid to save a hostage held by the Islamic State group, with no signs of progress on securing his release.
Japan’s chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga refused direct comment on the content of talks with Jordan, where a Japanese envoy is coordinating regional efforts to save hostage Kenji Goto.
The group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said in an online video posted on Tuesday last week that it had two Japanese hostages and would kill them within 72 hours unless it received US$200 million.
Photo: Reuters
Over the weekend, a new, unverified video showed a still photo of Goto, a 47-year-old journalist, holding a picture of what appears to be the body of fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa. It included a recording of a voice claiming to be Goto, saying his captors want a prisoner exchange instead of ransom.
Asked if the latest demand, which brings Jordan into the picture, makes the situation more complex, Suga avoided a direct answer.
“Naturally, Jordan has its own thoughts... The government is doing its utmost as the situation is still developing,” he told reporters. “We are seeking cooperation from every possible party toward a release [of the remaining hostage],” he said.
Japanese officials have indicated they are treating the video released over the weekend as authentic and thus accepting the likelihood that Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer captured in Syria last summer, was killed.
“It was an extremely dastardly act,” Suga said.
In Amman, Japan’s Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama emerged from meetings with no fresh progress to report.
“Due to the nature of this problem, please understand why I cannot disclose information such as with whom I had meetings,” he said.
Nakayama said he would “absolutely not give up until the end.” Reporters could not verify the contents of the weekend video message, which differed from earlier videos released by the Islamic State group, which now controls one-third of both Syria and Iraq.
News of the likely killing of Yukawa drew international condemnation, and outrage in Japan. Goto is thought to have been seized in October last year after going to Syria to try and rescue Yukawa.
Some commentators in Japan are critical of the two men for taking such risks. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also been criticized for pursuing a more assertive foreign policy, saying it could have contributed to the crisis.
Abe has pushed for an expansion of the role in the conflict for Japanese troops — which are strictly confined to self-defense under the pacifist constitution adopted after the nation’s defeat in World War II.
While on a visit to the Middle East earlier this month, Abe pledged US$200 million in humanitarian aid to nations fighting the extremists.
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