The wife of a Japanese freelance journalist believed to be held captive in Syria called on his captors Tuesday to release him, saying she believes a man shown in a video that recently surfaced online is her husband.

"My husband is not your enemy. Please return him safely as soon as possible," said Myu, the wife of Jumpei Yasuda who went missing in Syria in 2015, in a press conference. Myu, who is a singer, does not publicize her real name or her age.

(Myu)

Speaking in public for the first time since Yasuda went missing, Myu said at the Japan National Press Club that she believes the bearded man clad in an orange garment in a footage released in late July is her 44-year-old husband. Two gun-wielding men in black attire were seen standing behind him.

"He looked skinny. I think he's enduring day by day in a severe situation," she said.

Speaking in Japanese in the 20-second video, the man said, "My name is Umaru and I'm South Korean." Yasuda's wife said she does not know why the man believed to be her husband used a different name and said he is South Korean.

Contact with Yasuda was lost in June 2015 after he entered Syria to cover the civil war from the southern part of Turkey. It is thought he is being held by the Nusra Front, an al Qaida-linked antigovernment militant group in Syria.

Myu said his captors have never contacted her.

(Jumpei Yasuda)[Stock photo]