The Japanese government has condemned the apparent killing by Islamic State of one of its two citizens being held hostage.

Officials are trying to verify a video which announced the death of security contractor Haruna Yukawa, and featured a demand for the release of a prisoner in return for another Japanese hostage he was being held with.

The clip which appeared online purportedly contained the voice of journalist Kenji Goto, 47, claiming private military company operator Mr Yukawa, 42, had been killed.

Japan's government held an emergency meeting as it tried to verify the video.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he has no words to express the pain their families are going through:

Kyodo News agency reported the video had been emailed to the wife of one of the hostages.

A three-day deadline set by the militant group for the Japanese government to pay a $200m ransom (around €178m) for the pair's release expired on Friday morning.

In the new video, Mr Goto apparently said IS was no longer demanding money for his release and now wanted a female alleged attempted suicide bomber freed from detention in Jordan.

He spoke in English, blaming Mr Abe for Mr Yukawa's death, and told his wife and family not to give up on him.

The hostages had appeared in videos wearing the same orange jumpsuits as those worn by captives in previous IS videos.

Earlier this week, the mother of Mr Goto pleaded with militants to spare her son's life.

Junko Ishido said her son is a friend of Islam who devoted his life to helping children in war zones.

"I say to you people of the Islamic State, Kenji is not your enemy. Please release him," she said.

Mr Yukawa was seized by militants in August, after he went to Syria in what he described as a plan to launch a security company.

Mr Goto, a veteran war correspondent, went into Syria in late October seeking to secure Mr Yukawa's release, according to friends and business associates.

Originally posted at 15.39