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Japan's government is attempting to verify a video that suggests that the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has beheaded one of two Japanese hostages it holds.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported late Saturday that the video purports to feature an audio statement by hostage Kenji Goto and a photograph that appears to show fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa beheaded.
According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, Goto appears to say in English that his "cellmate" Yukawa has been killed.
He is also reported to tell the Japanese government that they must secure the release of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist -- Sagda al-Rishawi -- currently being held by the Jordanian authorities in order to save his life.
The video appeared online at 11 p.m. (1400GMT) but was quickly taken down. Kyodo reported that the same video had also been emailed to the wife of one of the hostages.
SITE Intelligence -- which tracks jihadist propaganda -- reported that the video was posted on ISIL-linked Twitter accounts, but militants on a website affiliated with the group disagreed about its authenticity.
Yoshihide Suga -- the chief secretary in Japan's cabinet -- said that ministers would meet to discuss the situation while more information was gathered.
At a late night press conference, he called the action "unforgivable" and "strongly" urged that "Goto not be harmed and be immediately released."
On Tuesday, Japan's government confirmed the existence of an initial video in which the group threatened to kill the two men within 72 hours unless a ransom of $200 million was paid.
That deadline passed at 2: 50 p.m. Friday.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on a trip to the Middle East when the original video was broadcast.
During the trip, he had pledged $200 million in non-military aid to the region -- used as justification in the original video for the ransom demand.
The government's chief spokesperson, however, has emphasized that the money was strictly for humanitarian purposes, such as helping fund refugee efforts for those fleeing the conflict in Syria.
Japan's pacifistic constitution prohibits the country from sending military aid abroad.
Reports have said that journalist Goto, 47, had travelled to Syria to find and ask for the release of Haruna Yukawa, a security contractor reportedly captured in August, when he was taken by ISIL.
Sagda al-Rishawi, who hails from Iraq, was sentenced to death in Jordan in 2005 following a spate of bombings that targeted three hotels in Amman that left dozens dead or injured, including foreign nationals.
In December, Jordanian jihadist leader Mohamed al-Shalabi -- better known as Abu Sayyaf -- urged the ISIL to trade a recently-captured Jordanian pilot for her and another prisoner.
ISIL has captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, later declaring the territories under its control an Islamic caliphate.
Three U.S. hostages -- James Foley, Peter "Abdul-Rahman" Kassig and Steven Sotloff -- have been beheaded in ISIL videos since Aug. 19, as well as British citizens David Haines and Alan Henning.
The group also holds British journalist John Cantlie and a 26-year-old American female aid worker, among others.
www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara
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