Free Republic

TOKYO — When Islamic State militants posted a video over the weekend showing the grisly killing of a Japanese journalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted with outrage, promising “to make the terrorists pay the price.” Such vows of retribution may be common in the West when leaders face extremist violence, but they have been unheard of in confrontation-averse Japan — until now. The prime minister’s call for revenge after the killings of the journalist, Kenji Goto, and another hostage, Haruna Yukawa, raised eyebrows even in the military establishment, adding to a growing awareness here that the crisis could be a...

The Islamic State (ISIS) group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless Tokyo pays a $200 million ransom within 72 hours, in a video posted on jihadist websites on Tuesday. In the video, a black-clad terrorist brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English standing between two hostages wearing orange jumpsuits. “You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the $200 million to save the lives of your citizens,” he says. The terrorist says that the ransom demand was to compensate for non-military aid that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to support...