The Japanese government has admitted that negotiations with Islamic State over the safe
release of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian pilot are "deadlocked."
Japan′s deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama, who is leading Tokyo′s emergency
response team in Jordan, says there has been no progress in trying to secure the release
of Kenji Goto or the Jordanian airman.
A top aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Saturday that the government
was still waiting for new information.
Islamic State had vowed to kill its Jordanian hostage by sunset on Thursday unless Jordan
handed over an Iraqi militant in return for Mr. Goto.
Jordan has demanded evidence the pilot is still alive before it frees would-be suicide
bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, who has been on death row for nearly a decade.