Islamic State Japanese Hostages

The Japanese government scored higher public approval ratings for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's handling of the hostage crisis involving two Japanese captured in Syria and killed by Islamic State militants, polls published this week showed.

The United States would support Japan playing a bigger role in global security, a US official said on Friday, amid intense debate in the Asian nation following the murder of two Japanese hostages by Islamic State jihadists.

US President Barack Obama said today Islamic State was a "brutal, vicious death cult" that was carrying out "unspeakable acts of barbarism" in the name of religion.

A top US defense official said it was "no coincidence" that recent Islamic State videotapes of the savage executions of Jordanian and Japanese hostages showed the victims wearing orange jumpsuits, "believed by many to be the symbol of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his policy toward terrorism, as the flag at his official residence flew at half-staff on Monday in a mark of mourning for two hostages killed by the Islamic State group.

When Islamic State militants posted a video Sunday showing the grisly killing of a Japanese journalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted with outrage, promising "to make the terrorists pay the price."

The apparent execution of two Japanese hostages captured by Islamic State militants marks one of the darkest moments in Japan's experience of kidnappings.

French President Francois Hollande today "resolutely" condemned the apparent execution of a Japanese hostage by the Islamic State (IS) group in a video released online.

The Islamic State claimed to have beheaded a Japanese journalist in a video released Saturday night, culminating a two-week drama that appears to have cost the lives of two Japanese men.

A visibly upset Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday vowed to "never forgive terrorists" after the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of hostage Kenji Goto.

Japan on Sunday said it was "outraged" after the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.

An online video released on Saturday night purported to show an Islamic State group militant behead Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, ending days of negotiations by diplomats to save the man.

Japan' deputy foreign minister has said negotiations with the Islamic State group threatening to execute a Jordanian pilot and a Japanese journalist have become "deadlocked," local media reported on Saturday.

The latest Islamic State hostage drama involving a veteran Japanese war correspondent and a young Jordanian pilot marks the first time the group has publicly demanded prisoner releases. It also signals a change in the extremist group's propaganda technique.

The fates of a Japanese journalist and Jordanian military pilot were unknown today, a day after the latest purported deadline for a possible prisoner swap passed with no further word from the Islamic State group holding them captive.

The Japanese government scored higher public approval ratings for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's handling of the hostage crisis involving two Japanese captured in Syria and killed by Islamic State militants, polls published this week showed.

The United States would support Japan playing a bigger role in global security, a US official said on Friday, amid intense debate in the Asian nation following the murder of two Japanese hostages by Islamic State jihadists.

US President Barack Obama said today Islamic State was a "brutal, vicious death cult" that was carrying out "unspeakable acts of barbarism" in the name of religion.

A top US defense official said it was "no coincidence" that recent Islamic State videotapes of the savage executions of Jordanian and Japanese hostages showed the victims wearing orange jumpsuits, "believed by many to be the symbol of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his policy toward terrorism, as the flag at his official residence flew at half-staff on Monday in a mark of mourning for two hostages killed by the Islamic State group.

When Islamic State militants posted a video Sunday showing the grisly killing of a Japanese journalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted with outrage, promising "to make the terrorists pay the price."

The apparent execution of two Japanese hostages captured by Islamic State militants marks one of the darkest moments in Japan's experience of kidnappings.

French President Francois Hollande today "resolutely" condemned the apparent execution of a Japanese hostage by the Islamic State (IS) group in a video released online.

The Islamic State claimed to have beheaded a Japanese journalist in a video released Saturday night, culminating a two-week drama that appears to have cost the lives of two Japanese men.

A visibly upset Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday vowed to "never forgive terrorists" after the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of hostage Kenji Goto.

Japan on Sunday said it was "outraged" after the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.

An online video released on Saturday night purported to show an Islamic State group militant behead Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, ending days of negotiations by diplomats to save the man.

Japan' deputy foreign minister has said negotiations with the Islamic State group threatening to execute a Jordanian pilot and a Japanese journalist have become "deadlocked," local media reported on Saturday.

The latest Islamic State hostage drama involving a veteran Japanese war correspondent and a young Jordanian pilot marks the first time the group has publicly demanded prisoner releases. It also signals a change in the extremist group's propaganda technique.

The fates of a Japanese journalist and Jordanian military pilot were unknown today, a day after the latest purported deadline for a possible prisoner swap passed with no further word from the Islamic State group holding them captive.