The deadline for Japan to pay a ransom for the release of two men being held by Islamic State militants is due to come to an end around now.
The terror group's threatening to kill the two Japanese nationals unless they're paid $200 million.
The mother of a Japanese man who is being held hostage by Islamic State has pleaded with militants to spare her son's life.
Junko Ishido said her son, the freelance journalist Kenji Goto, 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.
The appeal came just hours before the expiry of a 72-hour deadline issued by Islamic State for a $200m ransom to be paid by the Japanese government.
In a video released this week, Islamic State said it would kill two Japanese hostages - Mr Goto and Haruna Yukawa, a private military company operator - if the ransom is not paid.
In the video, a black-clad militant brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English as he stands between two hostages wearing orange jumpsuits.
"You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the $200m to save the lives of your citizens," he says.
The footage, identified as being made by the group's al Furqan media arm and posted on militant websites, also sees the militant criticising the Japanese government's support for US-led airstrikes against IS.
Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the government is making every effort to secure the hostages' release.
"We have received offers of cooperation from various countries. We are continuing to analyse information," he said.
Asked whether Japan would pay the ransom, Mr Kishida said: "We will not give in to terrorism. We will fight against terrorism in cooperation with other countries."
IS has seized swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria in an attempt to form an Islamic Caliphate.
Videos featuring a British-accented jihadi were published showing the murders of US hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British hostages David Haines and Alan Henning.
