Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Islamic State's latest threat to kill hostage Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was despicable.
Secret negotiations are underway in Jordan, with the goal of releasing Goto and another hostage, the Jordanian pilot Muat al Kasesbeh.
The situation was worsened by last night's ultimatum by the Islamic State that the two will be killed within 24 hours if Jordan does not release an Iraqi woman, sentenced to death for participating in a terrorist attack on a hotel in 2005 in which 60 people died.
"This act (ultimatum) is despicable to the extreme, and we are very angry about it. We strongly condemn it," Shinzo Abe said, adding: "Although the situation is difficult, we are not changing our position that we need Jordan's help so that Goto was released".
A Japanese government spokesman said there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of the Islamic State video message with the ultimatum. "I think the Jordanian government will respond (to the message) on its own," said Japan's deputy chief of staff, Katsunobu Kato.
After the publication of the ultimatum, the mother of the kidnapped Japanese journalist publicly asked the prime minister to release her son. "Kenji only has a short time left," she said in a letter to Abe.
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