TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese diplomat emerged from talks in Jordan on Monday with no signs of progress in securing the release of a freelance journalist held hostage by the extremist Islamic State group.
Japanese officials refused direct comment on the contents of the talks in Jordan, where Jap- anese Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama is coordi- nating regional efforts to save hostage Kenji Goto.
The Islamic State group said in an online video on Jan. 20 that it had two Japanese hostag- es and would kill them within 72 hours unless Japan paid it $200 million - the same amount Tokyo recently pledged in aid to nations fighting the militants.
Over the weekend, a new, unverified video showed a still photo of Goto, a 47-year-old journalist, holding a picture of what appears to be the body of fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa. It included a recording of a voice claiming to be Goto, saying his captors now want the release of a prisoner held in Jordan instead of a ransom.
Asked if the latest demand makes the situation more com- plex, chief Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga avoided a straight answer. But he said, "Naturally, Jordan has its own thoughts."
"The government is doing its utmost as the situation is still developing," he told report- ers. "We are seeking coopera- tion from every possible party toward a release (of the remain- ing hostage)."
Japanese officials have indi- cated they are treating the video released over the weekend as authentic and thus accepting the likelihood that Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer cap- tured in Syria last summer, was killed.
"It was an extremely dastard- ly act," Suga said.