A five-day hostage crisis ended in tragedy Sunday as the government said a decapitated body found in Baghdad earlier in the day was that of Shosei Koda, a 24-year-old Japanese taken captive by a militant group in Iraq last week.
Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told a hastily arranged news conference at the ministry Sunday morning that the government made a positive identification after determining the body's fingerprints and physical description matched those of Koda.
"This act of terror that snuffed out the life of an innocent civilian is extremely vicious, and I feel strong fury toward those who commit such acts," Machimura said. "This is totally unforgivable, and Japan will continue to cooperate with the international community to fight terrorism."