(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The fate of a Japanese hostage, who the Islamic State militants kidnapped and threatened to execute, is still unknown as the 24-hour deadline, set by the militant group, apparently expired on Wednesday night, Japan time. Earlier in the day, Jordan's state-run TV, citing the government's top media relations official, reported that the country is prepared to release death-row inmate Sajida al-Rishawi if a Jordanian military pilot held captive by the Islamic State militant group is returned safely to Jordan.
The broadcaster did not refer to Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, according to Kyodo News Agency. The Japanese government officials declined to comment on the report.
A video message posted online on Tuesday night showed a still image of Goto, a 47-year-old freelance journalist, holding a photo of who appears to be Jordanian pilot Muaz al-Kassasbeh captured by the group in December. A voiceover in the video, purportedly recorded by Goto, urged the Japanese government to pressure Jordan to release al-Rishawi in exchange for Goto. The message also said the pilot, followed by Goto, will be killed within 24 hours unless Jordan frees al-Rishawi. "I have only 24 hours left to live and the pilot has even less. This is my last message," the man said. Al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman, was sentenced to death in Jordan for her part in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed nearly 60 people. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference in the afternoon that the government believes the deadline given by the group was around 11 p.m. Japan time.
Suga reiterated that the government makes utmost efforts for an early release of the Japanese captive.
Goto went missing in October in Syria, apparently while trying to rescue Haruka Yukawa, 42, a private military company operator, who was abducted by the militants in August. In the earlier video posted on Jan. 24, the Islamic State said it had killed Yukawa, and demanded the release of al-Rishawi in exchange for Goto, while dropping a ransom of USD 200 million.
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