Japanese IS hostages: approaching deadline raises tension levels

Tokyo

TENSION went up a notch as another day went by without the Japanese authorities making successful contact with the Islamic State (IS), which is holding two Japanese nationals hostage.

A man claiming to be a member of IS had threatened in an online video message on Tuesday to kill them unless Japan paid a US$200 ransom in 72 hours.

Tokyo is scrambling to secure negotiating channels to urge IS militants to release the pair, identified as Haruna Yukawa, described as a defence contractor, and journalist Kenji Goto.

Chief Cabine…