The militant Islamic State group released an online video on Tuesday purporting to show two Japanese captives and threatening to kill them unless it received $200 million in ransom.
A black-clad figure with a knife, standing in a barren landscape along with two kneeling men wearing orange clothing, said the Japanese public had 72 hours to pressure their government to stop its “foolish” support for the US-led coalition waging a military campaign against Islamic State.
The militant, who spoke in English, demanded “200 million” without specifying a currency, but an Arabic subtitle identified it as US dollars.
The footage named the men as Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.
The video was not dated, but on a visit to
Abe, speaking in
“We strongly demand the release of the Japanese citizens unharmed,” Abe said. “The international community needs to respond firmly and cooperate without caving into terrorism.” The video resembled others distributed by Islamic State outlets in which captives were threatened or killed. It appeared to be the first time that an Islamic State video specifically demanded cash for captives.
CABINET MEETS IN
In
Cabinet ministers in
Goto is a freelance reporter who was based in
Goto met Yukawa last year and helped him travel to
Yukawa, 43, travelled to
Over the previous decade, he had lost a business to bankruptcy, lost his wife to cancer and become homeless, according to his father and an online journal.
It was not clear what exactly he was doing in the region.
Yukawa’s father, Shoichi Yukawa, declined to comment, saying he was overwhelmed by the news reports.
The militant in the footage, who spoke with a British accent, appeared to have the same voice as a jihadist shown with captives in previous Islamic State videos.
Similar videos have shown captives beheaded, including Western aid workers and journalists.
The hardline Islamist group, which holds territory in
Reuters