Islamic State (IS) has released a video which appears to show the beheading of a second Japanese hostage.
Freelance journalist Kenji Goto Jogo, 47, is seen kneeling in front of the British-accented figure known as Jihadi John before gruesome footage of his decapitated corpse is shown.
It comes less than a week after news of the beheading of another Japanese man, Haruna Yukawa.IS had demanded a 200 million US dollars (£130m) ransom for the two men.
Goto appears to have been killed in the brutal video
Speaking to the camera, the masked man says: "To the Japanese government: You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah's grace, are an Islamic Caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood.
"(Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo) Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin."
Japan's deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama, said yesterday that efforts to free Mr Goto were "in a state of deadlock".