Japan’s Government spokesman Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga ponders during a press conference at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday, as militants affiliated with the Islamic State group have posted an online warning that the “countdown has begun” for the group to kill the pair of Japanese hostages.

TOKYO: Japan’s government said Saturday it was attempting to verify a video posted online announcing the execution of one of two Japanese hostages held captive by Islamic State militants.

“A new video apparently showing Kenji (Goto) was posted on the Internet,” chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. “We are collecting information.”

In the video, Goto appears to be alive. The government however is checking the video for images suggesting that the second hostage, Haruna Yukawa, has been killed by his captors.

The video was not posted on any of the group’s official channels. It also does not bear the IS group’s black and white flag, nor is the purported execution of Haruna Yukawa shown live.

Several supporters of the IS on social media channels have contested the veracity of the video, while Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said negotiations for the two men’s release are still ongoing.

“This is an outrageous and unacceptable act of violence,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters as he arrived at his office after midnight. “We strongly demand the immediate release” of the remaining captive, Kenji Goto.

He later said the government would spare no effort to secure the release of the remaining captive.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga condemned what he said was “a video showing what appears to be a murdered Japanese, Mr. Haruna Yukawa, as well as Mr. Kenji Goto.”

A deadline by Islamic State militants for Japan to pay a $200 million ransom for Yukawa and Goto expired on Friday.

Earlier Japanese officials said they are still trying to secure a channel of communication to contact the Islamic State group as they scrutinize various information.

Tokyo has little diplomatic leverage in the Middle East.

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