Japan weighs US$200m ransom in Islamic State threat to kill hostages
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces tough choice in responding to ransom demand as Japan lacks the military to launch a rescue but will face international criticism if it pays
Islamic State threatened on Tuesday to kill two Japanese hostages within 72 hours, demanding a US$200 million ransom for their lives from Japan’s leader as he visited the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to save captives Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, telling journalists in Jerusalem: “Their lives are the top priority.” But with Japan’s military generally only operating in a self-defence capacity at home, Abe faced a hard choice of rewarding extremists now targeted by a US-led coalition or asking an ally like America, which has tried a previous hostage rescue in Syria, to launch a risky operation on its behalf.
The video, released via militant websites associated with the Islamic State group and apparently made by its al-Furqan media arm, mirrored other hostage threats it has made. Japanese officials said they would analyse the video to verify its authenticity, though Abe offered no hesitation as he pledged to free the men.
“It is unforgivable,” said Abe as he wrapped up a six-day visit to the Middle East. He added: “Extremism and Islam are completely different things.”
In the video, Goto and Yukawa in orange jumpsuits with a rocky hill in the background, a masked militant dressed in black standing between them. The scene resembles others featuring the five hostages previously beheaded by the Islamic State group, which controls a third of Iraq and Syria.