TOKYO – Images or mentions of blood, knives or ransom – or anything else that can be seen alluding to the hostage crisis involving two Japanese in Syria – have been omitted. Some anime and other entertainment programs are altering, canceling or postponing episodes violating those sensitivities – typical of the kind of self-restraint shown here to avoid controversy.

An online video released Saturday purported to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, ending days of negotiations for a possible prisoner swap. The video made no mention of another hostage, Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured after his fighter plane went down in December over an Islamic State-controlled area of Syria. The fate of Goto and al-Kaseasbeh had been linked by the militants. Another Japanese hostage, adventurer Haruna Yukawa purportedly was killed earlier.

The restraint shown by broadcasters and other media during the unfolding hostage drama has spilled over into politics as opposition lawmakers, mindful of the crisis, toned down their criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his team. When dozens of lawmakers appeared in their traditional kimonos this week to mark the opening of the annual session, they were attacked on blogs and social networks for looking too festive and insensitive.

The hostage crisis broke out Jan. 20 with the release of an online video showing the two hostages with a black masked man wielding a knife, demanding $200 million ransom in exchange for their lives.

Not wanting to be seen as insensitive – a huge faux pas in a society that holds consideration for others in high esteem – Japanese broadcasters quickly screened out any buzzwords and related images, all in the name of “jishuku,” or self-imposed control.