New Stage of Kidnapping

One video footage shook Japan. A photograph of Kenji Goto, one of the two hostages in Islamic State, appeared on the website, showing two pictures which indicated execution of another hostage, Haruna Yukawa. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe released a comment denouncing the brutal crime. The government seems to have started considering new demand of the kidnappers. The incident has gotten into a new stage.

The video footage is one minute long with still picture of Goto. On the screen, Goto shows himself sitting in front of wall, holding pictures of Yukawa. “I am Kenji Goto Jogo. You have seen a photo of my cell mate, Haruna Yukawa, slaughtered in the land of Islamic Caliphate,” Goto says in the video. He realizes that Abe’s distrust on what Islamic State said about the kidnapping caused that consequence and wanted his family, friends and colleagues to persuade Abe to take action.

Goto also plays a role as a negotiator of Islamic State. He tells that the kidnappers no longer demand large amount of money for ransom. Instead, he reports the condition of releasing himself that is to release a prisoner with death sentence in Jordan, Sajida al-Rishawi, who is a female militant of Islamic State. If it was true message of Islamic State, the incident turned out to be a hostage exchange rather than earning money.

Abe firmly denounced the criminal. “It’s outrageous and intolerable violence. I feel anger and strongly accuse it,” Abe told to the reporters when he entered in his official residence about one hour after the video was uploaded. His Cabinet had a meeting to deal with the incident in the midnight. He also emphasized that Japan would never give in terrorism.

It is unclear whether Japanese government had a scenario of killing one of the two hostages and keeping on intimidating with another one still in custody. There seems to be no time limit for exchanging hostages. Islamic State may have been involved in a realistic negotiation, dismissing excessive demand of a great amount of money. The fact that the criminals chose Goto, to whom a broad movement to save his life, to be a card for negotiation indicated ability of the organization to collect necessary information.

If the incident goes into a matter of hostage exchange, Japanese government will truly be tested in its diplomacy to Middle East. It is not realistic for the people in Jordan to release the killer terrorist in order to save one Japanese life. Abe will have to persuade not only the Islamic terrorists, but also Jordan or other Islamic nations in Middle East to achieve a goal.