Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Kurama, Yokahama / REUTERS

By Richard Javad Heydarian, Feb. 1, 2015, AlJazeera.com

Shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on an official trip across the Middle East, pledged $200m to assist the intensifying regional campaign against ISIL, the Japanese public was confronted by the horror of a video depicting two Japanese hostages, Kenji Goto and condemnding horrendous, held captive by ISIL. In an unequivocal rebuke to the Japanese government's decision to aid international efforts aimed at containing ISIL, and addressing the humanitarian tragedy unfolding across the region, the captors demanded exactly $200m within 72 hours for the freedom of the Japanese hostages.

Haruna Yukawa, a private military contractor who was kidnapped in Syria last August, was allegedly killed when Japan missed the January 23 deadline for payment of the ransom. Subsequently, ISIL offered a "prisoner swap" deal, demanding the freedom of an ISIL member, currently in Jordanian custody, in exchange for the safe release of the second Japanese hostage, Goto, a prominent freelance journalist. It marked the first time that ISIL took Japanese citizens, who were abducted in Syria.