GIVE US BACK HIS CAMERA!! (with constant news updates)

UPDATE@30 September 2007:
If you read Japanese:
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070930-00000079-jij-soci

Quote:

???????????????????????????APF??
9?30?19?0??? ????

????????????????????????????????????50????????????????????????????????30 ??????????????????????????????APF?????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????……

????:9?30?19?31?

In English for the gist of it:
It is very likely that the police took the camera away and has not given it back. Mr Yamaji of the APF News demands it be returned.

UPDATE@1 October 2007:
If you read Japanese:
?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071001-00000028-maip-int

?????????????????????????
10?1?17?7??? ????

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????

?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071001-00000909-san-pol

????????????????????
10?1?11?39??? ????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In English for the gist of the articles:
- Yamaji, a colleague of the slain journalist Nagai, did not find the camera Nagai was holding at death among his belongings that were returned from the police.
- Yamaji did get Nagai’s belongings returned from the police: his passport, his mobile phone, his notebook and a Canon with a videotape in it.
- The "last moment" camera was a Sony, while the only camera Yamaji could find among his belongings was a Canon.
- The Canon camera was a back-up. The videotape inside the Canon camera had nothing noteworthy: only test-shots inside a hotel room.
- The Burmese police claim all the belongings to Nagai have been returned.
- Nagai’s mother, 75, is heartbroken. She suggests it might be something the junta does not want the world to know that her son was filming. She wants his son’s body to be back as soon as possible. "How many days have passed since he was killed? This is unbearable," she told the reporters.

Meanwhile:
- Mr Machimura, the chief cabinet secretary of Japan, said at a press conference on 1st Oct, that the Japanese government would ask the Burmese junta government to make sure if it was true that all the belongings had been returned.
- Mr Yabunaka, who is visiting Burma, will urge them to return all of Nagai’s belongings.
- Machimura also said the Japanese government will be asking about the humanitarian situation in Burma. (This translation is too rough!)
- According to Machimura, the Burmese doctor(s) who performed a post mortem claims it is unlikely he was shot at a point-blank range. "On the body, there were no burns that he should have got when shot at a 20-centimeter distance, and there were no gun powders that he’d have got when shot at a one-meter range."
- Machimura questions this, and said another post mortem in Japan will be needed to see the truth.

Well, I can only hope that they don’t claim it’s "politically motivated" for Japan to conduct an inquest.

I feel really sorry for his mom, who’s been waiting for four days since her son’s death. (In Japan, a dead person’s body is usually cremated in two or three days.)

The TimesNowTV of India reports:
http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=3108

Meanwhile, Japan has urged Myanmar to return the video camera of video journalist Kenji Nagai who was apparently shot at point blank range while documenting the pro-democracy protests on 27 September. Tokyo is considering recalling its ambassador and suspending technical assistance to Myanmar depending on how the military junta reacts to Japan’s demand.

News clip in English (Reuters):
Japan demands Burma return journalist’s camera
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/video/2007/oct/01/japan.statement

Japan calls on Burmese authorities to return the missing video camera of Kenji Nagai who was killed in protests last week

The clip is in Japanese, with English subtitles. It shows another footage at the scene (it’s a new footage), seemingly seconds after the shooting. A soldier pulls fallen Nagai by the right hand. The Sony camera had already dropped from his hand, although it looks like he was still not dead. Then several soldiers carried his body away.

Then the clip shows Mr Machimura, the chief cabinet secretary of Japan, speaking at a daily press conference about the missing camera.

Still photos from the "new" footage:
http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/esteri/inedite-birmani...
# From number 4 to number 7. The smoke in the number 7 is tear gas, as far as I’ve heard.

Accorging to the Guardian blog, which quotes one Burmese blog (http://soneseayar.blogspot.com/), "Major General Hla Htay Win of the Rangoon Division has been sacked amid speculation that he is being blamed for the killing of" Kenji Nagai.
blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/10/burma_crisis_monday.html

UPDATE@7:00 am, 2 October 2007:
Mr Yabunaka, a senior official of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, has met several people from the junta. He officially demanded Nagai’s Sony camera be returned and told Japan wants to know what exactly happened.

No mention to the Major General Hla Htay Win (see my comment above) in a Japanese TV news (at the NNN, to whom Nagai did his last telephone report).

?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071002-00000002-jij-int

???????????????????????????
10?2?1?2??? ????

?????????????????????????1????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????50????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Among the people Yabunaka met was Maun Min, a deputy foreign minister. Maun Win told Yabunaka that Nagai had entered on a tourist visa, and that the shooting was an accident that occurred in the mess. But he said he understood how his family felt over the camera that the slain journalist was holding at his last moments, and that he would get in touch with the people in the know.

?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071001-00000215-yom-int

????????????????????
10?2?3?7??? ????

????????????……????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Also in the news… Mr Yamaji of the APF News will visit the place where his colleague was shot and offer some flowers. It was reported the police did not allow him to visit the place, but it now seems the authority changed their mind.

UPDATE@7:30 am, 2 October 2007:
Japan is going to stop some of its aid to Burma.

After the Burmese military crackdown on the protesters, the Japanese government have decided to cut its aid to Burma, such as grant aid and technical aid. Japan will review the current plans and projects, and decide which ones would be stopped or suspended. There will be no new humanitarian-aid project.

?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071002-00000301-yom-pol

??????????????????????????
10?2?3?12??? ????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

UPDATE@3 October 2007:
Reuters article:
Japan to cut back on aid to Myanmar – paper
Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:27am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSSP320349._CH_….

Japan will cut aid to Myanmar following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, although Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said a decision would not be made before the return of an envoy from the country.

Envoy Mitoji Yabunaka went to Myanmar at the weekend to press for a full inquiry after Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead …

Japan will review the assistance it provides to Myanmar and decide on which aid it will end or temporarily suspend, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said, citing government sources.

Tokyo will also stop sending new humanitarian assistance, it said.

But Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said no decision would be made until Yabunaka returns from Myanmar, where he has met with government officials and is awaiting possible talks with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We will make a decision on how to proceed after Mr Yabunaka has returned and reported to us on his trip," Komura told reporters. "At this point, nothing has been decided."

He added that no clear reply had been received from the Myanmar government to the request for a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. Japan has withheld new aid to impoverished Myanmar since Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, but it still funds emergency health projects and provides some training and technological transfers.

Japan has provided a total of about 3 billion yen ($26 million) in aid annually in recent years, compared with 10 billion in 2001.

The Yomiuri said the latest move could affect long-term assistance programmes such as a human resources development plan, for which 400 million yen is earmarked for the year to next March.

But analysts doubt whether sanctions would have much effect.

"Because Japan has narrowed down its aid from 1988, even if it discontinues the aid, the junta won’t feel much impact," said Myanmar expert Toshihiro Kudo.

…

I forgot to post this here:
Ko htike has published the death list, quoting AAPP. The list has six names:

Death list by junta violent crush (from AAPP)

Name: Ko Soe Than (b) Si Tone
Address: 716 , 26 Street , No 5 Quarter, SOkkalapa
Age: 41 years old
Date of death: 27 September, 2007

Name: Kenji Nagai
Adress: Nakano Ward, Tokyo, Japan
Age: 50
Date of death: 27 September, 2007
Remark:He is a photo journalist of freeland

Name: Myo Min Htun
Address: 287 , 24 Street , No. 7 Quarter, SOkkalapa
Age: 22
Father: U Than Htun
Date of death: 27 September, 2007

Name: Zayar Naing
Address: Mahor Video rent shop , Thura 2 Street, No. 9
Quarter, SOkkalapa
Age: 18
Date of death: 27 September, 2007
Remark: He is a tenth student of Basic Education High
School- BEHS (2) School , SOkkalapa, Rangoon

Name: Pho Zaw
Address: Dan Ohn Set, Marga street, N/Oakkalapa,
Rangoon
Age: 40
Date of death: 29 September 2007

Name: Sunny (alais) kalamalay
Address: Bo Htun Zan Quarter, Daw Bon, Rangoon
Age: 18
Date of death: 29 September 2007

[UPDATE on Ko Htike]
Name: Ven, Thila Sara
Address: Yuzana monastery, Myintkyina, Kachin State
Age:
Date of death: 26 September 2007

Name: Tun Tun Lin
Address: 1060. 13 street, 7 ward, S/Oakkalapa, Rangoon
Age: 31
Date of death: 27 September 2007

UPDATE@7:00 am, 3 October 2007:
Mr Yamaji of the APF News visited the site where his colleague was shot. An Agence France-Presse article posted on the Sydney Morning Herald has a picture.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/monks-from-rebel-age-group-a-ra...

Mr Yamaji is accompanied by another Japanese man, possibly an official at the Embassy – the man with a paper bag. Mr Yamaji himself has a camera. They pay tribute to the fallen journalist with white flowers (chrysanthemum) and incense. (Japanese Buddhists pay tribute to the dead with incense sticks rather than candles. And white chrysanthemum is always used at funerals and memorials.)

Nagai’s body will leave Bankok tonight for Tokyo. The Japanese police expects to conduct a post mortem when the body arrives on the morning of 4th October.

News articles in Japanese:
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071003-00000002-jij-int

?????????????4??????????
10?3?1?0??? ????

?……?????????????4???????????????????????
????3????????????4???????????????????????????????????????????

headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071002-00000212-jij-int

???????????APF???????????????????
10?2?21?3??? ????

??????2????……??????2??????????????????????????????3???????????????????4?????????????
??????2???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????1??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Mr Yamaji was at first denied a tribute visit to the site by the Burmese officials. But after the Japanese foreign ministry demanded, he was allowed to pay a visit as he had expected.

Before visiting the site, Mr Yamaji visited the hotel Mr Nagai was staying. The room had flowers for Nagai, and the hotel manager said to Yamaji, "I feel terribly sorry. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Nagai’s family."

Arriving at the site, Mr Yamaji put down the flower basket and observed a silent prayer, then he said "I’m so sorry it took so long for me to come here." It’s been five days since he was shot to death. On the spot where he fell, there were bloodstains.

UPDATE@noon, 3 October 2007:
The AFP reports about the Japanese government’s question about the Burmese official’s claims that the shooting was an accident.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_...

Japan doubts Myanmar’s assertion
Web posted at: 10/3/2007 2:59:30
Source ::: AFP

Japan yesterday questioned Myanmar’s assertion that the fatal shooting of a Japanese journalist covering anti-government protests in Yangon was an accident.

"It doesn’t seem to be accidental in any way," Japanese foreign ministry press secretary Mitsuo Sakaba told reporters. "What has happened is extremely deplorable."

…

Mituso Sakaba is ???? in Japanese. This story is not yet reported in the Japanese media. (I searched for his name but couldn’t find any articles.)

In Japanese (????):
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

UPDATE@13:00, 4th October 2007:
It’s been a week since Kenji Nagai was shot dead. In the Buddhism in Japan, the seventh day (including the day the person died, so it was yesterday in fact) is a very important day when friends and family pray for the peace of his/her soul. ??.

Nagai’s body was flown back to Tokyo this morning, probably around 06:00 am, acconpanied by the APF News president Mr Toru Yamaji. Yamaji brought Nagai’s belongings, including a blood-stained notebook he had in his bag. But there was not the Sony mini-videocam.

Here’s an Agence France Presse news article:
Japanese journalist’s body returns from Myanmar
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKYXB0AoKmB4LiUYlyUuYhy2TAiQ

NARITA, Japan (AFP) — The body of a Japanese journalist killed during pro-democracy protests in Myanmar returned home Thursday as his company vowed to retrieve the footage he was filming when shot dead.

Kenji Nagai’s coffin, bearing a bouquet of flowers, arrived at Narita airport east of Tokyo accompanied by Toru Yamaji, head of Tokyo-based video news service APF News.

"I want to retrieve the video he took in return for his life," Yamaji told reporters at Narita airport.

"Our biggest task now is to confirm and report on what’s in there and what he wanted to tell the people on his last day," he said. …

His body, which arrived from Yangon via Bangkok on a Thai Airways International plane, is to be sent to a Tokyo hospital for autopsy where it will be viewed by his parents, aged 82 and 75.

In Japanese:
?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071004-00000901-san-soci
?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071004-00000003-yom-soci

His coffin was covered with a red sheet, which I think is a tribute to the Burmese people because in Japan red is an unusual colour for a death.

The Yomiuri article above reports that Nagai’s parents met their son at a hospital in Tokyo. They had flown to Tokyo from Ehime on 3rd October.

Some additional notes@4th October 2007:
The APF News (NOT affiliated with the AFP, a French news agency) is a small independent news production company based in Tokyo. They play a vital part of Japanese news reporting – Japanese MSM usually don’t send their own reporters to the war/conflict zones but send independent journalists. Kenji Nagai was one of such journalists.

Mr Toru Yamaji, the head of the APF News, is also a journalist. He visited Burma a number of times (in 1989, 1990, 1995 …), and that was where the APF News started.

You can watch a clip by Yamaji at their site:
http://www.apfnews.com/

It’s Japanese only, but find the ?????? (sitemap) button on the top left. Then scroll down the page to ????? (archive) right above the "BOOK & VIDEO’. In the ????? list, there are six news clips, and Yamaji’s Burma report (broadcast in 1995) is the second one: ????????????.

The clips are:
- ???????????: The Amiriyah Shelter, Baghdad, Iraq (1991)
- ??????????: All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the Thai-Burma border area (1995)
- ??????????????: Bosnian Civil War – the Truth about the Ethnic Conflict (1993-1995)
- ?????????????????????????????: Somalia Civil War: Killing in the Name of Justice – the real face of the UN Peace-Enforcement Units (1993)
- ???????????????????????????: Child Soldiers: Get Them Back From The War Zone! – In The Case Of Sierra Leone (1996)
- ????????: Thailand’s AIDS Orphans (2000)

The last clip (Thailand’s AIDS Orphans) is a piece of work by Nagai. You can watch the clip at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjWF6PtHrI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1w0VG7UPn0

This is the orphan home in Thailand, set up by a Japanese humanitarian activist:
http://www.banromsai.jp/

# In English: http://www.banromsai.jp/info_e.html

UPDATE@15:00, 4th October 2007:
The BBC:
Reporter’s body returned to Japan
Last Updated: Thursday, 4 October 2007, 04:10 GMT 05:10 UK
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7027237.stm

…

An autopsy will be held to determine Kenji Nagai’s exact cause of death.

Japanese officials have said that he was shot at close range and not hit accidentally by a stray bullet as Burmese authorities have said.

Mr Nagai’s employers at APF News are demanding that Burma returns the camera he held in his hand when he was killed.

Burmese authorities have only returned a second camera that Mr Nagai is believed to have used as a back-up.

"Our biggest task now is to confirm and report on what’s in [his camera] and what he wanted to tell the people on his last day," said Toru Yamaji, the head of APF News.

On Wednesday, Japan’s Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said that aid to Burma might be suspended.

Japan is Burma’s largest aid donor.

The EU has agreed in principle to toughen existing sanctions against Burma and is reportedly looking at ways of specifically targeting its military rulers.

US President George W Bush has already announced tighter sanctions and travel restrictions against the junta and its supporters.

…

Meanwhile, it’s reported that Japan’s suspention will not play a major role as a pressure to the junta. According to this report (in Japanese), JETRO (the Japan External Trade Organization, a government-related organisation) has issued a report re: economies in Myanmar. The chief analyst sees 1) the recent price-rise is the problem, and it shows the fundamental and systematical problems of the Burmese economy, 2) the junta can make a lot of money by selling Burma’s natural gas when the price of oil is so high, 3) Japan has reduced its ties with the junta since 2003, so if Japan’s aid is cut back, only a limited effect is expected.

# The article is from Sankei media group, which is blantantly anti-China: i.e., they write only about China. But in fact, India’s role can’t be neglected as well as other ASEAN countries’ roles. And the fact is Japan has long supported the military government.

The Reuters and others reported that some of the detained monks and nuns were freed along with some of the local journalists, including the Tokyo Shinmun correspondent.

80 monks, 149 women, probably nuns, and 5 journalists were released.

In Japanese:
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071004-00000909-reu-int

I can’t find this article in English, but the Japanese article says:

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Rough translation for the gist of it:

One person who had been detained and other relatives told of their release. According to the relatives (or one relative), the detained civilians were interrogated at a detention centre, and then separated into four groups: passers-by, those who watched the demonstration, those who cheered and clapped to the protesters, those who took part in the demonstration.

And the monks were detained at a former governmental technical research center in the northern part of Rangoon and were vervally attacked/abused, but not physically attacked, according to the article.

Things are changing day to day, or even hour to hour. I still can’t find out exactly how many men and women have been detained.

And here’s another piece: a military officer has defected after refusing orders.

In English:
newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php…

Myanmar military officer defects to Thailand
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 09:02pm (Mla time) 10/03/2007

BANGKOK — A Myanmar military officer has fled to neighboring Thailand saying he refused orders to attack Buddhist monks in last week’s anti-junta protests and denouncing the regime.

"As a Buddhist myself, when I heard that monks had been shot dead on the streets and that other people had been shot dead, I felt very upset," he said in a video interview, a copy of which was made available to Agence France-Presse.

"As a Buddhist, I did not want to see such killing."

The army major’s defection is the first known case of a military official fleeing the country formerly called Burma since the junta last week ordered a crackdown that left at least 13 people dead and more than 1,000 detained.

Thai military intelligence officials have identified the officer, but he later requested that his name not be reported. The Thai officials said he was planning to request political asylum in Norway.

…

The man said he wanted Myanmar to be a "free and prosperous country."

"I don’t mean a rich country, like in Europe, but a country where people can earn a proper income," he said in the video interview. "I want to see Burma peaceful and for people to live in freedom."

However, for now, he added that "it’s impossible. Under the rule of the military regime, Burma will not be prosperous and peaceful."

In Japanese:
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071004-00000089-mai-int

????????????????????????
10?4?19?17??? ????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……

# this is a copy of what I posted onto the Help Burma Now! group’s forum.

UPDATE:
Nagai’s cause of death is now officially confirmed in Tokyo. He was shot from the back, and the bullet gave an extensive damage to his liver, and he died from blood loss. (This is quite similar to what a Burmese doctor told to Mr Yamaji a few days ago.) How he was shot is yet to be confirmed. The Japanese police will conduct a full review of the footages of the moment, and examine his shirts and trousers.

In Japanese:
?????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071004-00000418-yom-int

?????????????????…?????????
10?5?1?28??? ????

?……???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

UPDATE@5th October:
Nagai’s funeral is on Monday 8th October 2007 at Aoyama Saijo. See this post (in Japanese only) and/or a more updated post at "Protest the killing of Kenji Nagai" blog for more details.

The blog also hosts a petition to urge Burmese military government to give his camera back. See this post (in Japanese only) for more. More than 1,000 people have signed, including me.

Another petition in English and many other languages:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/w.php

I got to know of this petition on flickr (via somebody’s comment, or a post or two in related groups forum). Spread the word.

They sent this e-mail to me:

Dear friends,

Today, our petition to China and the UN Security Council to stop the brutal crackdown on peaceful Burmese protesters is being delivered to the world in a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide — but the ad was rejected by other newspapers like the South China Morning Post and the Singapore Straits Times. Our message is an invitation to China to do the right thing in Burma, not an attack — yet even that seemed too much for media that fear Chinese reprisals.

We won’t let our voice be silenced like this. We’re taking our message to the streets, in an international day of action on Saturday — details are on our petition page, and below. And we’re redoubling our efforts to make our voice louder: our petition is approaching 600,000 signatures, closing fast on our 1 million goal.The petition link is below – send this email to all your friends and family and help us reach 1 million voices by Saturday!

UPDATE@8 October 2007
Nagai’s funeral took place in Aoyama, Tokyo. I am now uploading pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582153/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582165/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582175/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582183/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582189/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514582195/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1515458466/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1515458468/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1515458482/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1515458486/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1515458504/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514614051/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514614083/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514614105/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514614109/
http://flickr.com/photos/nofrills/1514614115/

Sign an appeal to the UN Security Council to protect the people of Burma

free-burma.org

I would be really grateful if you could refrain from posting your images onto this thread because this webpage is intended to be strictly for updated news re: Kenji Nagai. There are plenty of pictures of mine on my flickr page where image posting is welcomed. Thank you for your understanding.

So, here’s another footage of the killing, and it perfectly captures how and when the camera was robbed of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHh7kbsSxXs

I put English subs onto this news report/new footage:
jimaku.in/w/LHh7kbsSxXs/ArYWPW_ENCc

This footage was broadcast on the night of 8th October, the day Nagai’s funeral was held, on TV Asahi.

–
The English subs I put on:

00:06:43
A group of protesters had been rounded up and taken to a street corner.

00:11:46
A group of protesters had been rounded up and taken to a street corner.

00:17:39
They do this to prevent them from fleeing. Some of the datained manage to run away.

00:22:83
"Don’t show your face, keep quiet!" warns someone to this cameraman.

00:31:16
This was 27th September, 2007, in Rangoon, Burma.

00:35:73
On the day when Kenji Nagai was shot dead while filming the protest.

00:52:27
Those who couldn’t run away are taken away by the secutiry force.

00:59:40
After they all have left, one person remains there on the ground.

01:06:31 [2 secs]
He lies on the ground with his face down, and he’s completely motionless.

01:12:51
Four soldiers look down at the man, and one of them turns him around

01:17:21
and the man’s shirt turns upwards, showing his belly.

01:22:49
One soldier has something in his hand.

01:28:24
They don’t seem to be taking care of the lying man.

01:32:08
The four soldiers walk away, apparently talking to each other.

01:44:20
The man is left there. Nobody looks after him.

01:51:99 [3.5 secs]
15 seconds later, a soldier comes back and steps toward the white cloth laid nearby.

01:57:97
And he picks up something small before leaving the place.

02:13:66
We asked Toru Yamaji of the APF News to look at this new footage.

02:19:28
The colours of the man’s shirt and trousers seem …

02:21:45
a bit different from the previously known footages…

02:27:06
but Yamaji points out the red spot on the man’s belly could be a gunshot wound.

02:38:56
Yamaji: "It’s where the bullet came …

02:41:05
out of Nagai’s body. Indeed if this is a gunshot wound, I must say it could be him.

02:53:45
How Nagai moved about the area? From the known footages of the day, it has to be like this…

03:01:52
How Nagai moved about the area? From the known footages of the day, it has to be like this…

03:07:92
this large crossing, and moved into this direction.

03:18:24
This footage was filmed from a footbridge over the large street.

03:22:79
On a map, the shooting site is here.

03:28:35
There is another footage from the opposite side of the street from the footbridge.

03:35:19
There is another footage from the opposite side of the street from the footbridge.

03:42:14
None of these three known footages show this small street.

03:51:35
But we found some clues in this image.

03:56:77
This large sign shows a Burmese singer’s face.

04:05:57
And next to it, there’s one big blue advert.

04:11:74
These two sign boards are spotted in this new footage, too.

04:20:88
So, Nagai was carried one-block away to the narrower street,

04:27:83
just a little bit away from the shooting site.

04:33:26
This new footage oversees the narrower street.

04:39:97
One witness confirms this. This is a Japanese man who was in the city on the day.

04:49:43
"He was shot here, and carried away by the security…

04:59:67
… to this narrower street, it seems.

04:53:79
Residents in this area told me so.

05:06:78
So why did the security force took him away to this narrower street?

05:14:77
It’s a mystery, but they picked up something small after they carried him.

05:20:65
Yamaji: "They picked up something, didn’t they?"

05:25:74
Yamaji: "Ah, it’s this! It’s this!"

05:30:42
Yamaji: "Look at this, he picks it up! And then…?"TV news crew: "He shows it to his team."

05:37:28
Yamaji: "Yes, this is … I don’t know, this is…"

05:42:33
Yamaji: "This is the same model that Nagai had. Is this as large as that one in the footage? This is quite small."

05:51:03
Is this the "lost" video camera of Nagai?

05:55:37
Yamaji had a further look at the footage.

06:00:04
Yamaji: "This camera has this thing on it."

06:04:30
Yamaji: "A strap."

06:09:50
Yamaji: "Nagai had this strap on the camera in a previous footage."

06:14:83
Yamaji: "So if the ‘thing’ had a strap on it, it must be Nagai’s camera."

06:21:44
Yamaji: "Oh dear, it’s there! Have you seen that?"

06:28:70
Slowing down the playback speed, there is something like a strap on the ‘thing’.

06:36:33
Yamaji: "When the camera zoomed in, you see, it’s a strap." TV crew: "Yes, I see it."

06:42:46
Yamaji: "I’m sure it’s a camera’s strap."

06:44:29
Yamaji: "It’s something shiny, and it’s as large as this, and it has a strap on it."

06:50:62
Yamaji: "Nothing other than a video camera."

06:53:07
Yamaji: "As far as I know, this is the last footage of Nagai."

06:58:69
Yamaji: "So the military had the camera, at least once."

07:04:17
15 second after they took the "video camera", they took another thing.

07:11:80
This looks like a digital (still) camera.

07:16:68
In fact, Nagai’s still camera is missing along with "that video camera".

07:25:83
Yamaji: "I’m sure he had an SD camera in his pouch."

07:34:06
Yamaji: "I know this because I found a camera manual among his belongings. But there was no SD camera."

07:42:06
It is likely that they chose things that were to be returned to the dead man’s family …

07:45:47
and they took those "unreturnable" things away on this narrower street.

07:51:71
Yamaji: "That is, Nagai’s camera was separated with his bags on this site. And only his bags were returned to us."

08:00:23
Nagai was shot on a high street. There are a lot of hotels nearby, used by a lot of foreign tourists.

08:07:96
So the security force took him to a less public place, and then, inspected his belongings — this is quite possible.

08:18:10
Cho Kay, a former Burmese military officer who used to lead a company of 500 tells us …

08:24:97
"The Burmese military government don’t want let the footages by foreigners …

08:31:76
"… come out of Burma. Cameras and video tapes are things they are the most afraid of."

08:36:72
Kenji Nagai’s funeral took place on today, Monday, 8th October 2007, in Tokyo.

08:41:97
So many white flowers surrounded his portrait and his coffin.

08:47:33
Not only Nagai’s relatives, friends and colleagues, but also many Burmese people in Japan, gathered at this hall in Tokyo,

08:56:68
… to mourn the tragic death of a journalist and bid farewell to him.

09:03:00
At the ceremy hall, there was one of Nagai’s camera along with his portraits in the Middle East and many other places.

09:11:60
– Yamaji and Nagai’s colleagues line up to say the final farewell to the slain journalist —

There are some footage of the funeral on youtube.com. They were filmed by the mourners.

I mentioned these on my blog:
nofrills.seesaa.net/article/59866828.html#more

Click on the link, and scroll down to find some embedded youtube players. I put a brief English description (although the page itself is in Japanese) beside the youtube players. Hope this will help.

Kenji Nagai was cremated on 8th October, and his bones are now with his parents and siblings back in Ehime, his home town. I saw on TV Nagai’s mother telling reporters at the airport that she was very proud of her son. They held a farewell ceremony at a local temple. ???

Here’s a photo:
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071014-00000007-maip-soci.vi…
The man standing in the centre of the picture is Toru Yamaji of the APF News.

And now, things are getting just too much. I can’t help but laugh.

First, in Japanese:
??????????????????????????
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071013-00000115-yom-int

??????????????????????????
10?14?3?5??? ????

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Not only Yomiuri, but also Asahi:
http://www.asahi.com/international/update/1013/TKY200710130222.html

??????????????????????????
2007?10?13?23?21?

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

And now, in English (an AP report):
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-14-burma-japanjournal...

Burma media blames slain Japanese journalist for ‘inviting danger’

RANGOON, Burma (AP) — Burma’s state-controlled media said Sunday that a Japanese journalist, killed during a crackdown on recent pro-democracy protests, was to blame for his own death because he put himself in harm’s way.

Kenji Nagai, 50, a video journalist for Japan’s APF News agency, was among at least 10 people killed in the Sept. 26-27 crackdown, when soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of pro-democracy demonstrators.

"This was an accident. The journalist was not deliberately targeted," said an editorial in The New Light of Burma newspaper, a junta mouthpiece. "The fact that the Japanese journalist was among the protesters amounts to inviting danger."

The editorial also said Nagai had entered Burma on a tourist visa. "He should have come in with a journalist visa, since he was a journalist," it said. "If he had behaved like a tourist he would not have faced this tragic end."

Burma is believed to have rejected all visa applications from journalists during the pro-democracy protests. …

And did I say that the bullet that killed him was already removed when his body came back to Japan? This, in effect, makes it impossible for a forensic pathologist to decide from what distance the soldier fired upon the journalist.

Anyway, it’s all too clear that the Burmese junta seem to be thinking they do something right when shooting unarmed civillians. The footage on 27 September showed the protesters along with the slain journaist, and they were just running away. They were not even throwing missiles, let alone shooting at the soldiers.

UPDATE@11:45 am, 16th October
The BBC News’s top page:

news.bbc.co.uk/

Japan adds to pressure on Burma
Last Updated: Tuesday, 16 October 2007, 01:43 GMT 02:43 UK
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7046267.stm

Japan is halting $5.5m (£2.7m) in funding for a human resources centre in Burma as economic pressure builds on the military government there.

The Japanese funding, promised in 2005, was to have been used for the centre at Rangoon University, where courses in economics, management and Japanese would have been taught.

But I’m not sure how much impact this will have on Burmese junta, because, as stated in the BBC article, the money would be used for higher education to build "good relationships" with Japan (that’s why they teach Japanese there).

And I’ve learned one veteran lawmaker questions about the shooting on Nagai (not answered yet, as of 16th October):
http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/a1680...
http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/a1680...

And it’s ????, if you know about Japanese politics!

here’s the BBC’s analysis (by Chirs Hogg) – I haven’t seen this sort of analysis in Japanese, but I believe there must be an article/column or to on the printed media. I think I’ve got to go to the library to check it out, but sadly enough, I haven’t got much spare time.

Japan’s balancing act on Burma
Last Updated: Tuesday, 16 October 2007, 18:53 GMT 19:53 UK
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7047468.stm

Tokyo is not the country’s biggest trade partner. Japan says when it comes to total investment, eight other countries did more business with the Burmese last year, including Britain, the United States and the Netherlands.

Burma’s biggest trading partners are its neighbours – countries like Thailand and China.

It is those countries and others in the regional grouping Asean who many believe are best able to exert influence over Burma’s military junta.

The "eight other countries" must be: China, India, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, France (Total), and … one more country.

UPDATE (26 October 2007):
Mr Nagai’s friends and colleagues have been campaigning for the camera, which the Burmese junta say ‘was lost’. They set up a weblog (in Japanese) to protest against the killing and demand the camera be back. They have been collecting signatures since 2 October, which reached 10,000 this week.

Yesterday (25 October 2007) they handed the petition to the Burmese Embassy in Tokyo. Japan is filled with scandals at the moment – corruption at the defence agency/ministry, the bunkrupt of Nova, Kameda brothers’ boxing (or "fighting") etc – so I only saw a very short report on TV, but they have a detailed account about it on their weblog (in Japanese).

A rough translation:

We arrived at the Burmese Embassy at 14.30, 25 October. There were press cameras from almost all of the TV stations. We had phoned and asked the Embassy to come out to get our letters in person, but they just declined, saying there was a letter box at the gate and there should be no problem.

When we arrived, Mr Ishimaru (a journalist) talked to them over the intercom, but they did not appear. Even worse, there was not a word from them. We were aware that there was somebody inside the Embassy, listening over the intercom – we heard someone move -, but the person said nothing. So we put the envelope into the letter box.

Curiously enough, their CCTV on the gate was doing a fine job: when Mr Ishimaru moved over in front of the press cameras, the CCTV moved too, to watch him talk to the press. I’m sure they wanted to know what is happening outside, but they dare not see it with their own eyes.

UPDATE (26 October 2007):
Petition for Kenji Nagai’s camera in English (this is not my translation, I just copied and pasted from their website):

Senior General Than Shwe
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council,
H.E. Mr. Hla Myint
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar in Japan

Dear Sirs:

On September 27, 2007 a video journalist Mr. Kenji Nagai was shot to death at a close distance by a member of the army of your country. He was reporting the activities of your army towards your citizens in your country as an international journalist. This Japanese journalist was shot without warning while he was engaged in an international press activity on the street of Yangon. This shooting incident by your soldier constitutes a sever violation of rules of the international community concerning activities of the press. The action of the soldier was intentional and cruel which, as members of the international community and as citizens of Japan, cannot dismiss without strong requests for fair punishment. Furthermore, the police authority of your country has not returned the video camera and the video tape contained within which Mr. Nagai was using at the time of death. The camera and the tape legally belong to Mr. Nagai in accordance with the international law.

We hereby strongly protest the atrocity done by the member of your military resulted in the violent death of Mr. Nagai. We also request with sincerity that details of this incident be investigated and opened to public, as well as identifying the perpetrator of the murder and the immediate initiation of due penal processes for this crime accordingly. This is also our strong request and hope that the video camera and the contained recorded tape be returned to Mr. Nagai’s family without any modifications to the recorded material.

Best regards,

The Group Protesting the Murder of Mr. Nagai by the Army of Myanmar.

Suite 306, 7-8-25 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 Japan

UPDATE (26 October 2007):
On Sunday, the NHK will be airing Nagai’s documentary film on AIDS orphans in Thailand.

10?28??????11?40????NHK??
NHK??????
???????????????75000???????? ????2001?

23.40, Sunday 28 October 2007, NHK Sogo (NHK One, like "BBC One"), in NHK Archives:
"AIDS Orphans are Mushrooming in Numbers: 75,000 Children in Thailand" (2001, ETV, NHK Educational Channel)