Japan will continue to "coordinate with every side" to resolve a hostage crisis, the country's deputy foreign minister said on Sunday (January 25) in Jordan. Yasuhide Nakayama is in the Jordanian capital Amman to resolve the situation after two Japanese citizens were held hostages by Islamic State militants, one of whom was later said to be killed. On Tuesday (January 20), Islamic State militants released a video showing Haruna Yukawa and veteran war correspondent Kenji Goto with a knife-wielding, masked man demanding a $200 million ransom for their release. A 72-hour deadline for that payment expired on Friday (January 23). In a later recording , Goto says Yukawa was "slaughtered in the land of the Islamic Caliphate." But the journalist said the Japanese government could save him by working through Jordan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this week set up an office to coordinate the government's response to the hostage situation. Goto said the militants would free him in exchange for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi held in Jordan, and that the militants have dropped the ransom demand. Abe's envoy Nakayama said the government will "continue to gather and analyse information and coordinate with every side to help Mr. Goto who awaits release". "We will not give up. We have faith we will complete our goal," Nakayama told reporters in Amman. The envoy said Jordan had been extending support to Japan, but he declined to give further details when asked about the negotiations. Yukawa, 42, was seized by militants in August after going to Syria to launch a security company. Goto, 47, went into Syria in late October seeking to secure Yukawa's release, according to friends and business associates. The new recording, released on YouTube late on Saturday (January 24) before being deleted, showed an image of a gaunt Goto in an orange t-shirt with audio of what appeared to be him making a statement in English. "I would like to stress how easy it is to save my life," the recording says. "You bring them their sister from the Jordanian regime, and I will be released immediately. Me for her." Al-Rishawi was arrested shortly after she failed to blow herself up in one of three deadly hotel bombings that hit the Jordanian capital in 2005. The Islamic State has executed five British and American aid workers and journalists in recent months. Yukawa's capture by Islamic State fighters outside Aleppo in August was the first time a Japanese citizen has been held by the group. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntdtv.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://bit.ly/1vy0wBj Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C
Japan will not give up on hostage deputy foreign minister
Japan will continue to "coordinate with every side" to resolve a hostage crisis, the country's deputy foreign minister said on Sunday (January 25) in Jordan. Yasuhide Nakayama is in the Jordanian capital Amman to resolve the situation after two Japanese citizens were held hostages by Islamic State militants, one of whom was later said to be killed. On Tuesday (January 20), Islamic State militants released a video showing Haruna Yukawa and veteran war correspondent Kenji Goto with a knife-wielding, masked man demanding a $200 million ransom for their release. A 72-hour deadline for that payment expired on Friday (January 23). In a later recording , Goto says Yukawa was "slaughtered in the land of the Islamic Caliphate." But the journalist said the Japanese government could save him by working through Jordan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this week set up an office to coordinate the government's response to the hostage situation. Goto said the militants would free him in exchange for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi held in Jordan, and that the militants have dropped the ransom demand. Abe's envoy Nakayama said the government will "continue to gather and analyse information and coordinate with every side to help Mr. Goto who awaits release". "We will not give up. We have faith we will complete our goal," Nakayama told reporters in Amman. The envoy said Jordan had been extending support to Japan, but he declined to give further details when asked about the negotiations. Yukawa, 42, was seized by militants in August after going to Syria to launch a security company. Goto, 47, went into Syria in late October seeking to secure Yukawa's release, according to friends and business associates. The new recording, released on YouTube late on Saturday (January 24) before being deleted, showed an image of a gaunt Goto in an orange t-shirt with audio of what appeared to be him making a statement in English. "I would like to stress how easy it is to save my life," the recording says. "You bring them their sister from the Jordanian regime, and I will be released immediately. Me for her." Al-Rishawi was arrested shortly after she failed to blow herself up in one of three deadly hotel bombings that hit the Jordanian capital in 2005. The Islamic State has executed five British and American aid workers and journalists in recent months. Yukawa's capture by Islamic State fighters outside Aleppo in August was the first time a Japanese citizen has been held by the group. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntdtv.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://bit.ly/1vy0wBj Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C
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