The else being that the pair will meet the same gruesome fate as other captives held by the terrorist group, others who were shown in ISIS videos kneeling in orange jumpsuits in front of masked, black-clad men — just like the Japanese hostages identified as Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa — shortly before being beheaded.

In the latest video, a masked man gives the Japanese government a choice to pay $200 million — the same amount of money Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently pledged for those “contending” with ISIS — to free the Japanese men. That deal holds for 72 hours, which would seem to mean sometime Friday, since the video appeared on social media Tuesday.

Another move that theoretically could change things would be if Japan’s government halts its alliance with those fighting ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State. Tokyo hasn’t participated in airstrikes aimed at the [terrorist] group, though its leaders have supported those who have, as well as the Iraqi government.

“Although you are more than 8,500 kilometers away from the Islamic State, you willingly volunteered to take part in this crusade,” the masked man on the video posted Tuesday says, addressing his comments to Abe.