The deadline set by the Islamic State jihadists for the payment of a ransom of 200 million dollars for two Japanese hostages has expired today, and the Japanese government is doing everything to save the lives of its citizens, said government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. "Japan has not received any message from the jihadists holding journalist Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa," Suga said. He warned that the situation is very serious, the agencies reported.
It is said that extremists associated with the Islamic State group posted a warning on the website today that "the countdown has begun." The website shows a clock counting down to zero, as well as pictures of other hostages killed by the Islamic State. The watch and pictures were posted on a forum popular with Islamic State jihadists and their sympathizers, but there are no pictures of the Japanese hostages. Suga told reporters that the message was being analyzed.
Abe also called a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss resolving the situation, while the mother of one of the hostages appealed to the government to pay the ransom and save her son. Islamic extremists released a video on Tuesday in which they gave the Japanese government 72 hours to pay a ransom for two kidnapped Japanese or be killed. "Time is running out. I am asking the Japanese government to save my son's life," pleaded the mother of 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto.
Suga reiterated today that Japan is trying in every way to reach those holding hostages and that Japan's policy of providing humanitarian aid to those displaced by conflicts in the Middle East will not change.
Japanese officials did not directly say whether they were considering paying a ransom but stressed that the lives of the hostages were their priority. Islamic State has killed three Americans and two Britons, releasing a video of their beheadings. This is the first time that Japanese citizens have been threatened and the first time that a ransom has been demanded.
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