Japanese officials said today that they are investigating a new video that appeared on the Internet that was allegedly uploaded by the terrorist organization Islamic State, reports the AP agency.
The video message allegedly shows Japanese citizen Kenji Goto holding a photo of the murdered Haruna Yukawa.
The AP agency still cannot confirm the authenticity of the footage.
During the day, the Japanese government continued its efforts to rescue the two hostages that the Islamic State is threatening to kill, but did not make significant progress in the process, as confirmed by an audio recording in which Goto talks about Yukawa being killed by beheading.
He also stated in the video that the Islamic State is not asking for money for his release, as previously reported, but that they stated as a condition the release of one of their "sisters" who were captured in Jordan.
In the video, Goto blames the Japanese prime minister for Yukawa's death and says that the Islamic State wants the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, who is suspected of an attempted terrorist attack in Jordan in 2005.
However, the analyst of events in Syria and Iraq Charlie Winter expressed doubts about the authenticity of the video, because there are no signs of the Islamic State on it, although it is certain that one of the captured Japanese is on it.
The Japanese Government also reacted.
"The photograph held by Kenji Goto shows a person with a severed head and is suspected to be Haruni Yukawa. This is a terrible and unforgivable act of violence. We strongly condemn this action and will strongly demand that no harm be done to Goto who remains in the hands of Islamists and that he be released immediately, said Yoshihide Suga, Secretary of the Government of Japan.
US President Barack Obama strongly condemned the killing of a Japanese citizen by ISIL, according to a statement from the White House.
"Today we send our condolences to the people of Japan for their terrible loss," the statement said.
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