Japan gathering information over missing national in Syria

The Japanese government is gathering information through various networks after a video showing a missing Japanese journalist was put on social media on Wednesday, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday.

Suga told a press conference here that the man in the video is likely to be the 42-year-old Jumpei Yasuda, who reportedly went missing in Syria in June last year and was detained by an al-Qaeda-related militant group, the Nusra Front, according to local reports.

The militant group is demanding a ransom from the Japanese government, said Japan's Kyodo News. But Suga said in the press briefing that the government was not aware of any ransom demand being made and declined to comment on whether the government has connected the group.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida also said Thursday that the government is making efforts to gather and ascertain information.

The possible hostage case came after two Japanese nationals held by the Islamic State militants as hostages earlier last year and both of them were killed by the militants. Endit