JERUSALEM: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to stand firm on Tuesday after the Islamic State (IS) group threatened to kill two Japanese nationals, saying he would not freeze a multi-million dollar aid package for countries hit by terrorism.

His remarks were made several hours after the group released a video threatening to kill two Japanese hostages if Tokyo did not pay a $200 million ransom within 72 hours.

An IS militant said in the video that the ransom demand was to compensate for non-military aid that Mr Abe had pledged on Saturday to countries affected by the group’s bloody expansion in Iraq and Syria.

“Making threats by taking people hostage is an unforgivable terrorist act about which I feel strong anger,” Mr Abe told reporters at a news conference in Jerusalem.

“I strongly demand that they not be harmed and that they be immediately released,” he said.

“The international community will not give in to any form of terrorism and we have to make sure that we work together,” he said at the news conference, which began more than an hour late due to the crisis.

The prime minister said Japan’s pledge of aid would not be affected. “This $200m package for refugees and displaced persons is absolutely necessary (for them)... in order to survive,” he said.

“This position is unshakable, it is not to be changed,” he said, stressing that the money was to help those made homeless by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.

The Japanese leader said two teams had been set up to handle the hostage crisis — one within the cabinet and one within the foreign ministry.

He said he was sending State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan’s deputy foreign minister, to Jordan to talk to the government there and to gather more information about the situation.

“I will take the leadership to solve this problem,” Mr Abe said.

He then headed to the West Bank city of Ramallah where he met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. He was to fly back to Japan later in the day, several hours earlier than scheduled.

Published in Dawn January 21st , 2015

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