The Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it is investigating whether a Japanese national has been captured by the Islamic State extremist group in northern Syria.
The Japanese Embassy in Syria, which has relocated to Jordan, received information on Saturday local time that a Japanese was being held by the militant group, which operates in Iraq and Syria, according to a ministry official.
"We are collecting related information through (the embassy) using available channels," the official said. "We are also analyzing information, including from the Internet."