Update | Fate of two Japanese held hostage by IS uncertain after ransom deadline expires
Deadline for US$200 million ransom payment to Islamic Sates expires without word after Junko Ishido, whose son Kenji Goto is held hostage, makes an emotional appeal
The fate of two Japanese men taken hostage by Islamic State militants operating in Syria and Iraq remained unknown today, a day after the deadline for payment of a US$200 million ransom expired.
In an online video released last week, a black-clad figure holding a knife stood between journalist Kenji Goto and troubled loner Haruna Yukawa, threatening to kill them if Tokyo did not pay Islamic State US$200 million within 72 hours.
Yasuhide Nakayama, a senior Japanese diplomat overseeing a task force set up in Jordan to secure the men's release, said last night that the situation remained tense after the deadline passed.
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”But we remain focused on gathering information and combing through it,” he told reporters. ”We in the government will pull through this together and put priority on saving human lives.”
Nakayama said he would stay in the Jordanian capital for the time being to command the task force.
The mother of journalist Goto appealed for his safe release on Friday as the government acknowledged it was in an “extremely severe situation”.