THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 1, 2022 at 17:04 JST
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara speaks at a news conference on the morning of Aug. 1. (Koichi Ueda)
A Japanese man who was filming a protest is being held in Myanmar after being detained by authorities on July 30.
“The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar has been asking authorities in the country to release the man as soon as possible,” said Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara at a news conference on the morning of Aug. 1.
“We will continue working to gather information,” he added.
The man was detained in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, while filming protesters, according to Kihara.
“In line with our role to protect Japanese people overseas, we are providing as much support as possible, including contacting the man’s family,” Kihara said at the news conference. “We would like to continue appropriately dealing with this issue.”
The man has been questioned at a police station, according to the embassy.
Embassy officials haven’t disclosed his name, but multiple media organizations in Myanmar have reported that he is documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota.
Government officials are waiting for a reply from authorities in Myanmar after they requested through the embassy that they be allowed to see the man in person, according to a source at the Foreign Ministry.
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