The Japanese government says it's highly likely that freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda has been released by militants in Syria.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a hastily arranged news conference on Tuesday night that the Qatari authorities had informed Japan that Yasuda could be released by the end of the day.

Suga said the Qatari authorities told Japanese officials about an hour-and-a-half later that the Japanese journalist was at an immigration facility in the Turkish city of Antakya.

He also said the available information indicates that it's highly likely the released person is Yasuda and the government has informed his wife of the news.

But Suga added that the identification process is likely to take some time.

Yasuda went missing in June 2015 after he crossed the Turkish border with Syria to cover the civil war in the country.

In March 2016, a video purportedly showing him was posted on the Internet.

Two months later, another video was uploaded. It showed a man believed to be the missing journalist holding a sheet of paper with a message in Japanese -- "Please help me. This is the last chance."

Source: ANNnewsCH