Japan working to gain release of ISIL hostage

Japan was working Monday to coordinate efforts with Jordan and other countries to save a hostage held by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"We all have one unchanged goal and we will absolutely not give up until the end. And with that faith, we will try our utmost to reach that goal. That's how it is," said Yasuhide Nakayama, a Japanese deputy foreign minister sent to Amman, Jordan, to work on the crisis.

In Tokyo, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Monday that the government was still analyzing a video posted online that purported to show one of the two hostages, Haruna Yukawa, had been killed.

In the video, ISIL allegedly amended its ransom demand to a prisoner exchange. The group reportedly wants to trade Kenji Goto for an ISIL member held in Jordanian custody.

Asked if the government had concluded the latest video was authentic, Suga said, "We cannot deny that the likelihood is high."

Suga added that “We are working closely with the Jordanian government, related tribal chiefs and religious leaders and other such organizations for the early release of Mr. Goto. We are working on all channels to secure his release."

When asked if the Japanese government had been in touch with ISIL, Suga said “"The government has not been in contact."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday called the killing of a Japanese captive by the militants "outrageous" and demanded the group release a second Japanese national they are holding.

Still, Abe reiterated that Japan would not give in to "terrorism."

The government has been in crisis mode since ISIL said in an online video on Jan. 20 that it had two Japanese hostages and would kill them within 72 hours unless it paid $200 million. That deadline passed Friday.

Attention is now focused on trying to save Kenji Goto, a 47-year-old journalist who was shown in the video, holding the photo of Yukawa. The still picture included a recording of a voice claiming to be Goto, saying his captors were no longer demanding ransom but wanted a prisoner exchange.

Japanese were shocked by the video and news of the likely killing of Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer, who was captured in Syria last summer. Goto is thought to have been seized in late October after going there to try to rescue him.

But some are critical of the two men for taking such risks. Some Japanese also are criticizing Abe for pursuing a more assertive foreign policy, saying it may have contributed to the crisis.

Earlier this month, Japan approved a record $42 billion defense budget. In July, the Abe government adopted a new interpretation of Japan's pacifist constitution to allow its military to defend American and other foreign troops under attack.

Abe has pushed to expand the role for Japan's troops — one that has remained strictly confined to self-defense under the pacifist constitution adopted after the nation's defeat in World War II.

While on a visit to the Middle East earlier this month, Abe announced $200 million in humanitarian aid to the nations fighting the militants. In the earlier video showing both Goto and Yukawa, the Islamic State group addressed Abe, demanding the same amount of money as ransom for the two hostages.

Toshiko Okada, 68, who used to run an English school in a Tokyo suburb, said she was stunned by the news and praying for the hostages' lives.

"I feel Abe's misguided shallow acts have triggered this ransom demand," she said. "Maybe he should be attending to problems at home."

Al Jazeera and wire services