TOKYO (Web Desk) – The Japanese government has confirmed that the recent video which purports the beheading second hostage journalist is most probably ‘authentic’, local media reported
“After an extensive review, we believe it’s highly probable” the video is real, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.
When asked if the man in the video was 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, Suga replied: “We think so.”
Following news of the video, Goto’s mother said she “can’t find the words” to describe the death of her son.
“It’s deplorable, but Kenji is gone,” Goto’s sobbing mother, Junko Ishido, told reporters at her home in a Tokyo suburb.
“I can’t find the words to describe how I feel about my son’s very sad death.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government had put high priority on seeking the release of Goto, a veteran war correspondent captured by the militants in late October when he went to Syria seeking the release of another Japanese captive, Haruna Yukawa.
