'Islamic State' deadline passes

The "Islamic State" (IS) posted a video online Friday showing a clock counting down to zero to symbolize the time remaining to secure the release of a pair of Japanese hostages. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened his National Security Council to discuss how to handle the deadline.

The men's status remained unclear after a 72-hour deadline mentioned in a video received by Japan's government on Tuesday appeared to have passed. Junko Ishido, the mother of 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, made a tearful appeal on his behalf, both to the Japanese government and directly to IS.

"Time is running out," Ishido, who described herself as an educator, said on Friday. "Please, Japanese government, save my son's life." In her tearful appearance in Tokyo, she added: "My son Kenji is not an enemy of the people of the Islamic faith. I can only pray as a mother for his release."

'All the trouble'

IS has threatened to kill the two hostages over Japan's financial backing of the anti-IS coalition unless the government pays $200 million (176 million euros) in ransom, the same amount the country had pledged in humanitarian aid to countries affected by the group. Early Friday, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported that it had received a message from IS promising a statement soon.

Ishido said she had not had any contact with Japan's government and that she had learned from her daughter-in-law that Goto had left less than two weeks after the birth of his child in October to go to Syria to try to rescue the other hostage, 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, a self-described adventurer. "My son felt he had to do everything in his power to try to rescue a friend and acquaintance," Ishido said on Friday, apologizing repeatedly for "all the trouble my son has caused."

Lacking clout and diplomatic reach in the Middle East, Japan has scrambled for a way to secure the release of the two men. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga reiterated Friday that Japan would try all possible channels to reach those holding the hostages, and that its policy of providing humanitarian aid for those displaced by conflict in the Middle East remained unchanged.

The United States, which does not meet ransom demands made by IS or other groups, announced last summer that it had failed to militarily rescue citizens held by the group in Syria. In August, IS killed US journalist James Foley. The group murdered his colleague Steven Sotloff in September.

In London on Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that over 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) had been retaken from IS in Iraq, though he added that the coalition "can do better" at hemming the militants' flow of funds and foreign fighters. The talks were held in London and attended by representatives from 21 countries for the purpose of discussing and planning the coalition's next step in the fight against the extremist militia largely composed of Sunni Muslims.

mkg/sms (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)