Japan caught in rare hostage crisis

Tokyo

A VIDEO showing an Islamic State militant threatening to execute two Japanese men has thrust Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into a hostage crisis just as he seeks to bolster the country's profile in global security and diplomacy.

Mr Abe vowed to stand firm. "Making threats by taking people hostage is an unforgivable terrorist act about which I feel strong anger," he said at a news conference in Jerusalem, where he is touring the Middle East. "I strongly demand that they not be harmed and that they be immediately released."