Japan’s government on Monday asked Myanmar to release a Japanese journalist who was arrested by security forces in its largest city of Yangon the previous day.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters that his government is asking Myanmar authorities to explain the arrest and release him as soon as possible.
Kato said they would continue to ask the Myanmar side for his early release, while doing their utmost for the protection of Japanese citizens in that country.
He did not identify the detainee, but Japanese media said he is Yuki Kitazumi, a former Nikkei business newspaper reporter currently based in Yangon as a freelance journalist.
On Monday night Myanmar state television stations Myawaddy TV and MRTV confirmed that the arrested journalist is Kitazumi, and said he had been arrested on a charge of violating the Penal Code.
The code prohibits comments that cause fear, spread “false news, and agitates directly or indirectly a criminal offense against a Government employee.
Dozens of other journalists are being held on the same charge, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Hours before his arrest, he had posted a video showing Myanmar citizens gathering at a Tokyo temple to pay tribute to people killed in the Myanmar military junta’s crackdown on protests.
Kitazumi was also detained briefly by police in late February while covering pro-democracy protests in Myanmar.
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