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This article is more than 5 years old

Killings leave Japan's pursuit of bigger foreign role at the crossroads Read more

The mother of Kenji Goto has led tributes to the Japanese journalist, after Islamic State (Isis) released a video purportedly showing his beheading and carrying a warning that Japan was now a target for the militant group.

As newspapers issued special editions bringing news of Goto’s death, his mother, Junko Ishido, said: “Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. I’m just speechless. It is my only hope that we can carry on with Kenji’s mission to save the children from war and poverty.”

The Isis video, called A Message to the Government of Japan, showed a militant who looked and sounded like the man with a British accent who has taken part in previous Isis beheadings.

The man, armed with a knife and dressed head-to-toe in black with his face covered, stands behind Goto before beheading him.

Goto, kneeling in an orange prison jumpsuit, said nothing in the video, which lasts about a minute. No mention was made of Muath al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who was seized by Isis after his jet crashed in north-east Syria in December during a bombing mission against the Islamist insurgents.

Japan condemned the apparent execution of Goto after days of attempts to secure his release.

Speaking soon after the video went online early on Sunday morning, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said Japan would not give in to terrorism but would work with the international community to bring Goto’s killers to justice.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, gave a quiet statement, saying that his government does not forgive terrorists. Video: Reuters

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, described Goto’s apparent murder as despicable.

“I cannot help feeling strong indignation that an inhuman and despicable act of terrorism like this has been committed again,” Suga said. “We resolutely condemn this.”

Suga said officials were trying to verify the video’s authenticity, adding that cabinet ministers would meet to discuss the government’s response.

The US also condemned Goto’s apparent beheading. Barack Obama said: “Standing together with a broad coalition of allies and partners, the United States will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy Isil [Isis].”

The British prime minister, David Cameron, described the killing as “despicable and appalling” and added: “Britain stands united with Japan at this tragic time and we will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice, however long it takes.

“I welcome Prime Minister Abe’s steadfast commitment to continue Japan’s active role, working with international partners, to secure peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. The humanitarian aid they are providing in the region is a vital part of helping the local communities that are being persecuted by the same [Isis] terrorists who murdered our innocent men.”

Praise for Goto also came from the father of his slain compatriot Haruna Yukawa, whose release the journalist had been trying to secure when he was captured. Yukawa, 42, was reportedly beheaded last weekend.

“He was kind and he was brave,” Shoichi Yukawa, Haruna’s father, said of Goto. “He tried to save my son. It’s utterly heartbreaking. People killing other people it’s so deplorable. How can this be happening?”

Goto’s plight had prompted an outpouring of support on social media as friends, colleagues and those inspired by his work campaigned for his release.

“Kenji lives on in all our hearts. In our daily work. Every time you smile with those around you, you will be sure to remember that big smile Kenji always gave us,” wrote Taku Nishimae, a film-maker living in New York who knew Goto and launched the “I am Kenji” page on Facebook.

Isis had offered to release Goto in exchange for Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi terrorist who faces execution for her part in suicide bombings in Jordan in 2005.

Killings leave Japan's pursuit of bigger foreign role at the crossroads Read more

An audio message purportedly from Goto earlier this week said Kasasbeh would be killed if Jordan did not free Rishawi, whose device failed to detonate during a string of suicide bombings that killed 60 people.

Negotiations conducted with the help of local tribal leaders became deadlocked, however, after Jordan insisted on seeing proof that Kasasbeh was alive before releasing Rishawi, and that the pilot also be part of any prisoner swap.

In the latest Isis video, a jihadi with a British accent issues a chilling warning to Abe, who has publicly backed coalition strikes against Isis and recently pledged $200m (£130m) in non-military aid to the campaign.

Addressing Abe, the militant says: “Because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin.”

The video, released on militant websites on Saturday night, bore the symbol of Isis’s al-Furqan media arm.

Though it could not be immediately verified, it conformed to other beheading videos released by Isis, which controls a third of both Syria and neighbouring Iraq in its self-declared caliphate.

Goto, 47, a veteran war correspondent, was captured in October after he travelled to Syria to try to win the release of Yukawa, a self-styled security consultant whom Goto had met in Syria last April.

Japan’s hostage crisis began almost two weeks ago after militants threatened to kill Goto and Yukawa within 72 hours unless Japan paid $200m – the same sum Abe had pledged to countries affected by the war against Isis.

Japan has no military involvement in the campaign against Isis and has stressed in recent days that the assistance was purely humanitarian.