Japanese minister hoping for hostage release

Japan’s deputy foreign minister has expressed hope that his fellow countryman and a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic militants will return home “with a smile on their faces” as criticisms mounted over the government’s handling of the crisis.

Yasuhide Nakayama, assigned by prime minister Shinzo Abe to co-ordinate efforts in Amman to save two Japanese hostages of the Islamic State (IS) group, said he believed there were “firm ties” between Japan and Jordan.