Japan was working on Monday to coordinate efforts with Jordan and other countries to save a hostage held by the extremist Islamic State group.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama, speaking from the Jordanian capital Amman, said: "We all have one unchanged goal and we will absolutely not give up until the end. And with that faith, we will try our utmost to reach that goal. That's how it is."

In Tokyo, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the government was still analyzing a video posted online that purported to show that one of the two hostages, Haruna Yukawa, had been killed.