Fate of Hostage Goto Unknown after 24-Hour Deadline Passes

Tokyo, Jan. 29 (Jiji Press)--The fate of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto, believed to be held captive by the Islamic State militant group, has remained unknown after a new 24-hour deadline for negotiations on his life, set by the group, appears to have passed late Wednesday night. No new message or statement has been released by the group. The Japanese government believes that the 24-hour period started around 11 p.m. Tuesday Japan Standard Time (2 p.m. GMT), when it claims to have confirmed a new image of a man believed to Goto, 47, and an attached voice massage. The message included a demand for the release within 24 hours of Iraqi woman Sajida al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber on death row in Jordan, in exchange for Goto, one of the two Japanese held captive by the Islamic State. The other hostage, Haruna Yukawa, 42, is believed to have been killed by the group. The Japanese government continued efforts into early Thursday to win Goto's release by communicating with its hostage crisis task force in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Japan is seeking cooperation from the Jordanian government, which is viewed as a key player in negotiations with the militant group, while the Middle East country is putting top priority on rescuing a Jordanian air force pilot, also held hostage by the Islamic State. Jordan's state-run television on Wednesday quoted a Jordanian official as saying that the country's government is ready to free al-Rishawi in an effort to realize the release of the pilot, Muath al-Kasaesbeh. But the minister did not refer to Goto. Jordan is calling for the release of the pilot as a condition for freeing the jailed Iraqi terrorist. But it is unclear whether the Islamic State will accept Jordan's request as it is demanding the one-for-one swap involving Goto and al-Rishawi. Commenting on the TV report, a senior Japanese government official said that nothing is clear about what is happening. There was information that al-Rishawi has been released. But Mohammad Momani, Jordan's minister for media affairs and communications, denied this, saying that her release will be linked with the release of the pilot, Momani said. In Amman, Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama, who heads the local task force, told reporters Wednesday, "We are patiently gathering information" to win the release of Goto. "We will never give up," he said. Some Arab media reports said that the Jordanian government is expected to accept the Islamic State's demand for the swap of Goto for al-Rishawi. On this, Nakayama said, "There is a lot of information, but I don't know at all about what is going on." Meanwhile, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told CNN it could be possible that Goto will be released as part of a swap deal. But the release of the Jordanian pilot is of higher priority, the minister said. At a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, "The Japanese government will make every possible effort to achieve the release of Goto as soon as possible." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was standing by at his official residence, receiving reports on the crisis from the task force in Amman. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida briefly left a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, and returned to his ministry in the afternoon. Kishida later told reporters that he had been in contact with the task force in Amman and confirmed the situation, adding that Japan will continue making efforts for Goto's release. Suga also left the Upper House meeting at one point in order to hear reports from Shotaro Yachi, head of the secretariat at Japan's National Security Council, and others. The message attached to the online image uploaded Tuesday night, which was read apparently by Goto, threatened that the Jordanian pilot will be killed first and Goto will then follow the same fate unless al-Rishawi is released by the Jordanian government within 24 hours. The hostage crisis began when an online video was recognized on Jan. 20, in which a masked man threatened to kill Goto and Yukawa unless Japan pays 200 million dollars in ransom within 72 hours. On Saturday night Japan time, more than a day after the expiration of the 72-hour deadline, an online image of Goto holding a picture showing a murdered person, believed to be Yukawa, was posted on the Internet. An attached voice message demanded the release of al-Rishawi in exchange for Goto, in place of the earlier demand for ransom. END