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Japan vows not to give up on hostages
Japan promised Saturday not to give up âuntil the very endâ on efforts to free two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic militants demanding a US$200 million ransom, after a deadline passed with no word from the captors
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apan promised Saturday not to give up 'until the very end' on efforts to free two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic militants demanding a US$200 million ransom, after a deadline passed with no word from the captors.
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State group posted an online warning Friday afternoon that the 'countdown has begun' for the extremists to kill 47-year-old Kenji Goto and 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa. The extremists had set a 72-hour deadline for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pay the ransom, or the hostages would be killed, in an online video posted Tuesday.
Friday's posting, which appeared on a forum popular among Islamic State militants and sympathizers, did not show any images of the hostages, who are believed to be held somewhere in Syria.
Yasuhide Nakayama, a deputy foreign minister sent to Amman, Jordan, said he was working around the clock to coordinate efforts to save the hostages.
Yet, the fate of the two men remained unclear Saturday. Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Japan was analyzing the second message. He said there has been no direct contact with the captors.
