Islamic State Threatens to Kill 2 Japanese Hostages

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)--A video posted online Tuesday purportedly by the Islamic State militant group threatens to kill two Japanese nationals taken hostage. The video threatens to kill them unless the Japanese government pays 200 million dollars in ransom within 72 hours. According to a government source, the video is likely to be authentic. If confirmed, it marks the first death threats made against Japanese nationals by Islamic State. In the video, titled "A message to the government and people of Japan," the poster claims the ransom is equivalent to the amount that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now visiting the Middle East, pledged on Saturday to countries combating the Islamic State threat. "You (Abe) willingly have volunteered to take part in this crusade (against Muslims)," a masked militant standing between the two kneeling hostages said to the camera as he wielded a knife. One of the two Japanese shown in the video appears to be 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, who was apparently captured in northern Syria last August. Yukawa entered Syria through Turkey in late July and traveled with another rebel group. The other could be freelance journalist Kenji Goto. Goto, in his late 40s, posted on Twitter in October that he was reporting from Syria. The last post he made was on Oct. 23. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, Abe said the threat to lives is an act of terrorism that cannot be tolerated. "It's outrageous. Japan strongly demands their immediate release," he said. Abe also stressed that the 200-million-dollar financial assistance will be provided as planned. "It's humanitarian aid needed by refugees," he said. Abe avoided commenting on Japan's response to the ransom demand. He instead stated, "The international community must not give in to terrorism." Meanwhile, one senior official of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party pointed out that the government does not intend to pay the ransom. International responses to ransom demands by terrorists have varied so far. The United States and the United Kingdom have refused, while France and Germany, among others, are believed to have paid to have their citizens released. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Abe told government officials to do all they can to establish the facts and make the lives of the Japanese nationals their top priority, Suga also said at a press conference in Tokyo that the government will send State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama, who was with Abe in the Middle East, to Amman, the capital of Jordan, on a fact-finding and supervisory mission. Elsewhere, the National Police Agency ordered officers currently in Jordan on a separate mission to set up an emergency response team called the Terrorism Response Team-Tactical Wing for Overseas, or TRT-2. The team is designed to help rescue Japanese nationals involved in incidents abroad. The agency also launched a 112-member task force in Tokyo. Separately, the ruling LDP has also set up its own task force. END