Except they aren’t.

(AP) – The Islamic State group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages within 72 hours, demanding a $200 million ransom in a video posted online Tuesday that showed a knife-brandishing masked militant standing over the two kneeling captives.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was traveling in the Middle East, vowed to save the men. But with his military only operating in a self-defense capacity at home, Abe faces a hard choice: openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syriia. […]

Japanese officials said they would analyze the video to verify its authenticity, though Abe offered no hesitation as he pledged to free the men.

“Their lives are the top priority,” the Japanese leader told journalists in Jerusalem as he wrapped up a six-day visit to the Middle East. “Extremism and Islam are completely different things.”