Kenji Goto (後藤 健二, Gotō Kenji, born October 23, 1967 - January 31, 2015) was a Japanese freelance video journalist covering wars and conflicts, refugees, poverty, AIDS, and child education around the world. In October 2014, he was captured and held hostage in Syria by Islamic State (ISIL) militants. After being held for three months, on 31 January 2015, he was beheaded.