Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defends handling of hostage crisis
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his policy toward terrorism, as the flag at his official residence flew at half-staff Monday in a mark…
Haruna Yukawa
Japan mourns Kenji Goto as caring and courageous reporter
By YURI KAGEYAMA Whether in tsunami-stricken northeastern Japan or conflict-ridden Sierra Leone, the stories of the vulnerable, the children and the poor drove the work of journalist Kenji Goto. The…
Jordan ready to swap inmate for pilot held by Islamic State
Jordan is willing to swap an Iraqi woman prisoner involved in deadly 2005 hotel bombings for a Jordanian pilot captured in December by extremists from the Islamic State group, a…
Purported IS message threatens Japan, Jordan hostages
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH An online message purportedly from the Islamic State group warned Tuesday that a Japanese hostage and Jordanian pilot the extremists hold have less than…
Japan stunned by video claiming death of 1 of 2 IS hostages
By YURI KAGEYAMA From the prime minister to ordinary people, Japanese were shocked Sunday at a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group…
Japan condemns new video, not yet verifying it’s of hostages
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH Japanese officials said Saturday they were investigating a new online message purporting to be from the extremist Islamic State group about the two Japanese…
IS-linked militants say countdown for Japan’s hostages began
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACHMilitants affiliated with the Islamic State group have posted an online warning that the “countdown has begun” for the group to kill a pair of…