Video appears to show death of IS hostage

Abe declines comment on extremists' demand for prisoner exchange to save second captive

From prime minister to ordinary people, Japanese responded with shock on Sunday to a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group had been killed.

With national attention focusing on efforts to save the other hostage, 47-year-old journalist Kenji Goto, some also criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive for a more assertive Japan as responsible for the hostage crisis.