Tokyo // Footage of a Japanese journalist who went missing in Syria has apparently emerged, showing him asking his country to secure his release.
The Japanese government said on Thursday it was studying the video of Jumpei Yasuda, who has not been heard from since the middle of last year.
The footage was posted online by a Syrian man who lives in Turkey, who said Mr Yasuda had been taken hostage by the Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al Nusra rebel group in Syria, local media in Japan reported.
They cited telephone conversations with the man, though did not identify him.
Broadcaster Nippon TV also said it spoke by phone with a person it described as a negotiator for the group, and that it is seeking a ransom.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government’s top spokesman, said that he was “not aware” of any ransom demand.
Speculation has swirled around Mr Yasuda since reports first emerged that he may have been captured in Syria.
“We are aware of the video and are analysing it,” Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday.
In the one-minute video, the bearded man wearing a black jumper with a scarf around his neck says in English: “Hello, I am Jumpei Yasuda. Today is my birthday, 16 March.”
He remains mostly calm, but becomes slightly emotional when he addresses a message to members of his family.
Speaking “to my country”, Mr Yasuda indicates there has been no official response to his plight.
Militants from the self-styled ISIL extremist group last year beheaded Japanese war correspondent Kenji Goto and his friend Haruna Yukawa.
The government in Tokyo was criticised for what detractors saw as its flat-footed response to the crisis at the time, including apparently missed opportunities to free both men.
Mr Yasuda had posted frequent comments on Twitter, expressing frustration that many journalists were staying away from Syria. But the tweets abruptly stopped on June 21 last year.
In his last Twitter post on that day, he said: “I have reported what is happening through my blog and Twitter without disclosing where I am.”
He added that unspecified “interference” with his reporting activities had increased substantially to the point that he might not be able to continue.
* Agence France-Presse
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20Profile
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RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Company%20Profile
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)