Japan's government said Saturday it was attempting to verify a video posted online announcing the execution of one of two Japanese hostages held captive by Islamic State militants.
"A new video apparently showing Kenji (Goto) was posted on the Internet," chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.
In the video, Goto appears to be alive. The government however is checking the same video for images suggesting that the second hostage, Haruna Yukawa, has been killed.