After the Islamic State group reportedly confirmed via radio that it had killed Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa, both Japan and Jordan were saying little Monday about how they might respond to its demand that a suicide bomber jailed in Jordan be exchanged for the second hostage, Kenji Goto.
But officials from both sides were believed to be in talks on the sensitive matter.
At a morning news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga dodged a question on whether Tokyo has asked Jordan to release Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, one of four bombers who struck three hotels in Amman in 2005, killing 57 people.