ISIS' deadline to free Japanese hostages has expired

ISIS posted a "countdown clock" warning it would kill two Japanese hostages if a ransom were not paid in time, and the deadline passed on Friday afternoon in Asia with no word of the hostages' fate.

Before the deadline passed, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would "use every diplomatic route" to save the hostages, but he said Japan would not pay a ransom fee to release them. ISIS had demanded $200 million for the men's release.

"Such an act of blackmailing through holding the innocent lives as hostage is utterly impermissible, and we feel strong indignation," Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement after ISIS' video was released. "We strongly urge the group not to harm the two Japanese nationals and to release them immediately."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up