Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the Meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Warning of Japanese Nationals’ Execution in Syria at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
“Yesterday, it was confirmed that there is the high possibility that the two men shown in the video released by the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) are Japanese nationals who had gone missing. Making threats in this way in exchange for human lives is an abhorrent act of terrorism towards which I feel strong indignation.
I once again strongly urge the group not to harm the two Japanese nationals and to release them immediately. The Japanese Government continues to exert every effort for our response to this issue while prioritizing the lives of the hostages. In the midst of this formidable battle against time, we must develop thorough information operations.
Yesterday, I made a request for direct cooperation from H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority. I also hurriedly made requests by phone for cooperation from the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, H.M. King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein; H.E. Mr. Abdel-Fattah, President of Egypt; and H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Yasuhide Nakayama is currently being dispatched to Jordan. The Government will do everything it can on this issue while utilizing, to the maximum extent, the relationships of trust cultivated with the countries of the Middle East through our diplomacy that takes a panoramic perspective of the world map, along with every other channel and route.
In any case, Japan will not give in to terrorism. We will contribute to the counter-terrorism efforts by the international community, and take every possible measure in the fight against despicable acts of terrorism. I want each member of the Cabinet to continue to exercise strong leadership, to be adaptive, and to make the maximum possible responses to the moment-by-moment changes in the situation.”