Japan has confirmed that a Japanese employee of a foreign security firm has been kidnapped in Iraq
An Al-Qaeda linked militant group said it had seized a Japanese hostage during a battle in western Iraq.
The statement, along with identity card photographs, have been posted on an Islamist website.
The group claimed the hostage was captured during an ambush of a convoy leaving the US Al-Assad military base west of Baghdad, during which several other foreigners were killed.
The Japanese Defence Agency has said it is not aware of any of its soldiers missing in Iraq.
Family seeks medicine for Australian hostage
Meanwhile, relatives of Australian hostage Douglas Wood have pleaded with his Iraqi captors for him to be given emergency high blood pressure, cholesterol and heart medicines.
Mr Wood's family asked that a mediator be allowed to deliver the drugs, offering a list of five medications that the 63-year-old engineer should be taking daily.
Their statement came just hours ahead of a 72-hour deadline set by his abductors on Friday for Australia to start pulling out its troops.
The group holding him, the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq, did not specify what would happen if the demand was not met.
A senior Australian muslim leader is travelling to Iraq to help secure Mr Wood's release.
Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali has already appealed on Arabic television for his captors to set him free. Mr Wood has been held captive for more than a week.
Sheikh al-Hilali, who opposed the war in Iraq, has said he is hoping to bring Mr Wood home.
