TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister said Sunday he was “speechless” after an online video purportedly showed that one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed, and he demanded the release of the other.
Shinzo Abe told Japanese broadcaster NHK that the video was likely authentic, though he said the government is still reviewing it. Abe offered condolences to the family and friends of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer taken hostage in Syria last year.
He declined to comment on the message in the latest video, which demanded a prisoner exchange for the other hostage, journalist Kenji Goto. He said only that the government was still working on the situation, and reiterated that Japan condemns terrorism.
“I am left speechless,” he said, stressing he wants Goto released unharmed. “We strongly and totally criticize such acts.”
Yukawa’s father, Shoichi, said he hoped “deep in his heart” that the news of his son’s killing was not true.