Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda freed after 3 years from Syria: official

We received information from Qatar that Mr Jumpei Yasuda had been released, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

A man believed to be a Japanese freelance journalist captured three years ago in Syria has been released, a Japanese government spokesman said on Tuesday.

"We received information from Qatar that Mr Jumpei Yasuda had been released," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

Suga said the government was making checks to confirm the released man really was Yasuda. But it was highly likely that that was the case, and his wife had been notified.