<p>The Islamic State group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless it receives a USD 200 million ransom within 72 hours, but Tokyo today vowed it would not give in to "terrorism".<br /><br />IS has murdered five Western hostages since August last year, but it is the first time that the jihadist group -- which has seized swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq -- has threatened Japanese captives.</p>.<p><br />In footage posted on jihadist websites, a black-clad militant brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English, standing between two hostages wearing orange jumpsuits.<br /><br />"You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the USD 200 million to save the lives of your citizens," he says.<br /><br />The militant says that the ransom demand is to compensate for non-military aid that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to support countries affected by the campaign against IS during an ongoing Middle East tour that on Tuesday saw him in Jerusalem.<br /><br />But the Japanese government said it would not bow to extremism.<br />"Our country's stance -- contributing to the fight against terrorism without giving in -- remains unchanged," chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a news conference in Tokyo.</p>.<p><br />An official in the foreign ministry's terrorism prevention division had said earlier that the government was investigating the threat and the authenticity of the video.<br />Since August, IS has murdered three Americans and two Britons, posting grisly video footage of their executions.</p>.<p><br />US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines were all beheaded.</p>.<p><br />The militant who appeared in the video threatening the Japanese hostages spoke with a very similar southern English accent to the militant who appeared in the footage posted of the executions of the Britons and Americans.</p>.<p><br />Abe, who was due to give a Jerusalem new conference at 0800 GMT, pledged a total of USD 2.5 billion in humanitarian and development aid for the Middle East on the first leg of his tour in Cairo on Saturday.</p>.<p><br />He promised USD 200 million in non-military assistance for countries affected by the Islamic State (IS) group's bloody expansion in Iraq and Syria, which spurred an exodus of refugees to neighbouring countries.</p>.<p><br />The first hostage -- Kenji Goto -- is a freelance journalist who set up a video production company, named Independent Press in Tokyo in 1996, feeding video documentaries on the Middle East and other regions to Japanese television networks, including public broadcaster NHK.</p>.<p><br />The second hostage appeared in previous footage posted last August in which he identified himself as Haruna Yukawa and was shown being roughly interrogated by his captors.</p>
<p>The Islamic State group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless it receives a USD 200 million ransom within 72 hours, but Tokyo today vowed it would not give in to "terrorism".<br /><br />IS has murdered five Western hostages since August last year, but it is the first time that the jihadist group -- which has seized swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq -- has threatened Japanese captives.</p>.<p><br />In footage posted on jihadist websites, a black-clad militant brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English, standing between two hostages wearing orange jumpsuits.<br /><br />"You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the USD 200 million to save the lives of your citizens," he says.<br /><br />The militant says that the ransom demand is to compensate for non-military aid that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to support countries affected by the campaign against IS during an ongoing Middle East tour that on Tuesday saw him in Jerusalem.<br /><br />But the Japanese government said it would not bow to extremism.<br />"Our country's stance -- contributing to the fight against terrorism without giving in -- remains unchanged," chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a news conference in Tokyo.</p>.<p><br />An official in the foreign ministry's terrorism prevention division had said earlier that the government was investigating the threat and the authenticity of the video.<br />Since August, IS has murdered three Americans and two Britons, posting grisly video footage of their executions.</p>.<p><br />US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines were all beheaded.</p>.<p><br />The militant who appeared in the video threatening the Japanese hostages spoke with a very similar southern English accent to the militant who appeared in the footage posted of the executions of the Britons and Americans.</p>.<p><br />Abe, who was due to give a Jerusalem new conference at 0800 GMT, pledged a total of USD 2.5 billion in humanitarian and development aid for the Middle East on the first leg of his tour in Cairo on Saturday.</p>.<p><br />He promised USD 200 million in non-military assistance for countries affected by the Islamic State (IS) group's bloody expansion in Iraq and Syria, which spurred an exodus of refugees to neighbouring countries.</p>.<p><br />The first hostage -- Kenji Goto -- is a freelance journalist who set up a video production company, named Independent Press in Tokyo in 1996, feeding video documentaries on the Middle East and other regions to Japanese television networks, including public broadcaster NHK.</p>.<p><br />The second hostage appeared in previous footage posted last August in which he identified himself as Haruna Yukawa and was shown being roughly interrogated by his captors.</p>