ANTALYA (Sputnik) — The Japanese authorities remain on a high alert following the execution of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State (ISIL) militants, Press Secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Yasuhisa Kawamura told Sputnik on Monday.
In January, ISIL militants beheaded two Japanese nationals, entrepreneur Haruna Yukawa and freelance journalist Kenji Goto, in retaliation for Japan’s $200 million pledge in humanitarian aid for ISIL-affected countries, viewed as an act of war by the extremist group.
"We feel on high alert due to a possible terrorist attacks. … ISIL declared there is a challenge for the Japanese people, they declared to kill the Japanese, we are under pressure," Kawamura said.
He added that immediately after the hostage crisis, Tokyo took a series of measures in three areas – anti-terrorism, enhancement of the information gathering and strengthening of Japanese embassies security.
