Tokyo
\nJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he was relieved that a Japanese hostage believed to have been captured in Syria three years ago had been released, but added that the government still needed to confirm the man\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
Japan had received information that a man believed to be Jumpei Yasuda, a freelance journalist, had been released, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The government had notified Yasuda\u2019s wife, but still needed to confirm his identity, he said.<\/p>\n
Yasuda, 44, had been captured by an al Qaeda affiliate after entering Syria from Turkey in 2015, according to Japanese media.<\/p>\n
Since then he has appeared occasionally in online videos.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Abe thanked Qatar and Turkey for their cooperation in freeing the man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m relieved to hear the information. We want to confirm whether the man is Mr Jumpei Yasuda as soon as possible,\u201d Abe said.<\/p>\n
Yasuda\u2019s parents spoke to reporters outside their house near Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbove everything else, I want to see him being fine,\u201d said his father, Hideaki Yasuda.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he\u2019s back, I want to tell him one thing, and that\u2019ll be \u2018good job hanging in there\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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