Deadline for Japanese ISIS hostages fast approaching

TOKYO -- The deadline for paying $200 million ransom to secure the release of two Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was fast approaching early Friday with no signs of a breakthrough.

Hours before the cutoff time after which the militants threatened to kill her son, the mother of hostage Kenji Goto pleaded for his freedom. Looking frail as she quietly wept, Junko Ishido begged his captors to save Goto's life.

"To the people of the Islamic State, Kenji is not your enemy," she said in a tearful appearance in Tokyo. "Please let him go."

She said her son had left behind a two-week-old baby to try to save friend and fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa, the founder of a private security company who was captured last year.

"My son felt he had to do everything in his power to try to rescue a friend. That was very important to him," Ishido said, apologizing repeatedly for "all the trouble my son has caused."

The militants threatened in a video message Tuesday to kill the hostages within 72 hours unless they received $200 million. Based on the video's release time, that deadline would expire sometime Friday.

"Ever since before he learned to walk, my son has been kind to all of the children he knew," said Ishido, adding that she was "confused by my sorrow."

The status of efforts to free the two men was unclear. Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported that it had received a message from Islamic State "public relations" saying that a statement would be released sometime soon.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that Japan was trying all possible channels to reach those holding the hostages and that Japan had not received any message from ISIS since the release of the video.

Japan has been scrambling for a way to secure the release of the two men. Tokyo lacks strong diplomatic connections in the Middle East, and Japanese diplomats left Syria as the civil war there escalated, adding to the difficulty of contacting the group holding the hostages.

Two Japanese who said they have contacts with an ISIS leader offered Thursday to try to negotiate, but it was unclear if the Japanese government was receptive to the idea. Ko Nakata, an expert on Islamic law and former professor at Kyoto's Doshisha University, and journalist Kousuke Tsuneoka are both converts to Islam.

Appearing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Nakata, who is also a former Islamic specialist at the Japanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, read a message in Japanese and Arabic.

"Seventy-two hours is just too short. Please wait just a bit longer, and do not try to take action immediately," he said, addressing the militants. "If there is room to talk, I'm ready to go and negotiate."

Nakata proposed offering $200 million in humanitarian aid to refugees and residents of areas controlled by ISIS, through the Red Crescent Society.

"The Red Crescent Society is operating under ISIS control. Why don't we seek Turkey's mediation and give the money for the people affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria? I believe this could be a rational, acceptable option," he said.

A freelance journalist, Tsuneoka was released after being held hostage in Afghanistan in 2010.

Tsuneoka and Nakata visited Syria in September in an unsuccessful attempt to gain Yukawa's release. Goto was seized sometime after late October when he entered the area, reportedly while trying to help Yukawa.

In his last communication with ISIS several months ago, Tsuneoka said they had promised not to kill Yukawa or demand ransom.

"It's a desperate situation," Tsuneoka said. "I don't recall a hostage who survived after appearing on the video."

It is unclear if the two would be allowed to go to Syria, since they have been questioned by Japan's security police on suspicion of trying to help a Japanese college student visit Syria to fight with ISIS.

Tsuneoka said they would contact the militants only with a go-ahead by the Foreign Ministry, and could possibly ask ISIS representatives to meet with them in Turkey.

Nakata and Tsuneoka said their contact was the current ISIS spokesman, whom they identified as Omar Ghrabah. But they said police surveillance and harassment had prevented any communication with him since early October.

Suga refused to comment directly on their offer, though he said Tokyo was "prepared to consider all possible ways to save the two hostages." Japanese officials have also not directly said whether they are considering paying any ransom, though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said their lives were the top priority.

Abe's options are limited. Japan's military operates only in a self-defense capacity a home so any rescue attempt would require help from an ally like the United States.

Japanese media have reported that Goto's wife received an email in December asking for more than 2 billion yen ($17 million) in ransom, but it did not contain a threaten to kill Goto.

Abe has pledged $200 million in aid for refugees displaced by the fighting in Syria. In its ransom video, ISIS accused Abe of providing money to kill Muslim women and children and destroy homes, a charge the Japanese government rejects.

Abe aims to raise Japan's global profile and shift to more pro-active diplomatic and security roles, but this crisis could make the public more wary of greater involvement in the Middle East and other global crises.

In 2004, militants captured a Japanese backpacker, demanding that Japan pull its troops out of humanitarian projects in southern Iraq. The government refused, and the backpacker was found beheaded.