Envoy hopeful about release of IS hostage

Extremists demand Iraqi prisoner in exchange for second Japanese citizen and Jordanian pilot

A Japanese envoy in Jordan expressed hope that Japanese hostage Kenji Goto and a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic extremists will return home "with a smile on their faces", as criticisms mounted on Tuesday over the government's handling of the crisis.

In the Jordanian capital, Amman, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama said he believed there were "firm ties" between Japan and Jordan.