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Japanese police have sent a rapid response team to Jordan to counter international terrorism in light of ransom demands for the lives of two Japanese hostages in Syria by the Islamic State terrorist group, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday, according to Sputnik News.

According to the agency, the special team will be located in Jordan's capital Amman and will be collecting information about the hostages and communicating with foreign colleagues for the release of the two Japanese citizens. The group's size was not specified.

On Tuesday, a video apparently released by the Islamic State appeared on the Internet, showing a man, dressed in black with his face covered, holding a knife over two men on their knees. The militant demanded $200 million in ransom from the Japanese government in exchange for the captives.

The two Japanese hostages are reported to be Haruna Yukawa, the founder of a private security firm, and Kenji Goto, a freelance journalist, both abducted in Syria last year.

The sum of the ransom, $200 million, matches exactly the sum pledged to countries fighting against IS by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on January 17 in Cairo, during his journey to the Middle East.