Father of Japanese Hostage Reported Killed Still Hopeful

Shoichi Yukawa, father of Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State group, speaks during an interview at his home in Chiba, near Tokyo Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. Japanese officials are working to verifying a new message purported to be from the Islamic State group holding the hostages. The Associated Press could not verify the contents of the message, which varied greatly from previous videos released by the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of both Syria and Iraq. AP Photo/Asahi Shimbun, Yasuhiro Sugimoto, Pool

TOKYO—The father of the Japanese hostage purportedly shown in a video as having been killed by Islamic State militants is hoping against hope his son could still be alive.

“My mind went totally blank,” Shoichi Yukawa told reporters Sunday, a day after news broke of the video footage. “I am hoping deep in my heart that it is not true.”

Haruna Yukawa, a 42-year-old adventurer, was taken hostage in Syria last year.

Shoichi Yukawa, father of Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State group, speaks during an interview at his house in Chiba, near Tokyo Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. AP Photo/Asahi Shimbun, YasuhiroSugimoto, Pool