Kenji Goto, doing his job

It was a video that would prove to be his last message before disappearing.

In a message dated October 25 last year, freelance journalist Kenji Goto explained he was travelling to Raqqa, the effective capital of Isis.

Today Japan is mourning both men after Isis released a video footage purportedly showing the murder of Goto, days after it did the same for Yukawa.

Goto, 47, was a veteran reporter who set up his own independent news agency and travelled across the world trying to tell the story of ordinary people struggling through conflict, from Kosovo to Liberia, and Sierra Leone to Afghanistan.

A father-of-three, he has been described as a "remarkable, remarkable man" by friends, who said he was kind, softly-spoken and gentle.

His mother, Junko Ishido, said: "Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless."

In the video posted in October, Goto said: "If something happens, know all the responsibility is on me. So please don't blame the Syrian people."

In the Japanese version, he added: "In any case, I'll come back alive."