TOKYO, Oct. 24 (CGTN) -- A Japanese journalist kidnapped in Syria more than three years ago is believed to have been released, the government said Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that he was "relieved" to hear the news, but added that the government still needed to confirm the man's identity.

Jumpei Yasuda, a 44-year-old freelancer, was seized in the war-torn country in June 2015, and appeared in a rare video released by a militant group over the summer warning that he was in a bad situation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government was trying to verify information from Qatari authorities but it was "highly likely" Yasuda had finally been freed.

"The Qatar government informed us that Jumpei Yasuda has been freed and is now at the immigration center in Antakya in Turkey," Suga said.

"We're now verifying the information ... but it's highly likely it is Jumpei Yasuda himself," he said.

A jihadist group in August released videos of the Japanese journalist and Italian national Alessandro Sandrini, in which they appeal for their release.

The videos did not identify which group was holding the men or include specific demands.

In the video, he identified himself as Korean and gave a different name, but spoke in Japanese.

He gave the recording date as July 25, saying he was in a bad situation and asking for help.

His wife said she had no idea why Yasuda had identified himself as Korean in the video, but confirmed it showed him and that he is Japanese.

In 2015, militants from the ISIL group beheaded Japanese war correspondent Kenji Goto and his friend Haruna Yukawa in Syria.

The Japanese government was criticized for what detractors saw as its flat-footed response to the crisis at the time, including apparently missed opportunities to free both men.