<p>From prime minister to ordinary people, Japanese responded with shock today at a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed.<br /><br /></p>.<p>With national attention focusing on efforts to save the other hostage, 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, some also criticised Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive for a more assertive Japan as responsible for the hostage crisis.<br /><br />A somber Abe appeared on Japanese public broadcaster NHK early today demanding the militants release Goto unharmed.<br /><br />He said that the latest video was likely authentic, although he added that the government was still reviewing it. He offered condolences to the family and friends of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer taken hostage in Syria last year.<br /><br />Abe declined to comment on the message in the video, which demanded a prisoner exchange for Goto. He said only that the government was still working on the situation, and reiterated that Japan condemns terrorism.<br /><br />"I am left speechless," he said. "We strongly and totally criticise such acts."<br />Yukawa's father, Shoichi, told reporters he hoped "deep in his heart" that the news of his son's killing was not true. "If I am ever reunited with him, I just want to give him a big hug," he said.<br /><br />The Associated Press could not verify the contents of the video message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq.<br /><br />Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said US intelligence officials were also working to confirm whether it was authentic.<br /><br />Criticism of Abe has touched on his push for an expanded role for Japan's troops, one that has remained strictly confined to self-defense under the pacifist constitution written after the nation's defeat in World War II.<br /><br />The threat from the Islamic State group coincided with Abe's trip to the Middle East, where he announced USD 200 million in humanitarian aid to the nations fighting the militants.<br /><br />Reflecting widely held sentiments here, Jun Hori, an independent journalist, bemoaned Abe's directly mentioning the Islamic State in announcing the aid.<br /><br />The Islamic State addressed Abe and cited that same figure as ransom demand in its video Tuesday that threatened to behead Yukawa and Goto within 72 hours.<br /><br />Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the audio was still being studied, but there was no reason to deny the authenticity of the video</p>
<p>From prime minister to ordinary people, Japanese responded with shock today at a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed.<br /><br /></p>.<p>With national attention focusing on efforts to save the other hostage, 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, some also criticised Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive for a more assertive Japan as responsible for the hostage crisis.<br /><br />A somber Abe appeared on Japanese public broadcaster NHK early today demanding the militants release Goto unharmed.<br /><br />He said that the latest video was likely authentic, although he added that the government was still reviewing it. He offered condolences to the family and friends of Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer taken hostage in Syria last year.<br /><br />Abe declined to comment on the message in the video, which demanded a prisoner exchange for Goto. He said only that the government was still working on the situation, and reiterated that Japan condemns terrorism.<br /><br />"I am left speechless," he said. "We strongly and totally criticise such acts."<br />Yukawa's father, Shoichi, told reporters he hoped "deep in his heart" that the news of his son's killing was not true. "If I am ever reunited with him, I just want to give him a big hug," he said.<br /><br />The Associated Press could not verify the contents of the video message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq.<br /><br />Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said US intelligence officials were also working to confirm whether it was authentic.<br /><br />Criticism of Abe has touched on his push for an expanded role for Japan's troops, one that has remained strictly confined to self-defense under the pacifist constitution written after the nation's defeat in World War II.<br /><br />The threat from the Islamic State group coincided with Abe's trip to the Middle East, where he announced USD 200 million in humanitarian aid to the nations fighting the militants.<br /><br />Reflecting widely held sentiments here, Jun Hori, an independent journalist, bemoaned Abe's directly mentioning the Islamic State in announcing the aid.<br /><br />The Islamic State addressed Abe and cited that same figure as ransom demand in its video Tuesday that threatened to behead Yukawa and Goto within 72 hours.<br /><br />Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the audio was still being studied, but there was no reason to deny the authenticity of the video</p>