Kenji Nagai
Kenji Nagai 長井 健司 | |
---|---|
Born | Imabari, Ehime, Japan | August 27, 1957
Died | September 27, 2007 | (aged 50)
Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
Occupation | Photojournalist |
Known for | Being the only foreign national killed in the Saffron Revolution |
Kenji Nagai (長井 健司, Nagai Kenji, August 27, 1957 – September 27, 2007) was a Japanese photojournalist who took many assignments to conflict zones and dangerous areas around the world.
He was shot dead in Myanmar (also known as Burma) during the
Background
Kenji Nagai grew up in Imabari, Ehime, Japan, and graduated from Imabari Nishi High School. Nagai attended Tokyo Keizai University (東京経済大学), and after graduation he studied abroad in the United States for a year. After his return to Japan, Nagai held a part-time job before embarking upon his career as a freelance journalist.[2] Working as a contract photojournalist for Tokyo's AFP News,[1] Nagai was accustomed to traveling to dangerous places in the Middle East.[3] From 1997 until his death, Nagai took assignments in Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq, taking photographs that captured the essence of war.[2][4]
Nagai arrived in Myanmar two days before the government began attacking
Death
Nagai had been in Myanmar covering the anti-government protests since Tuesday, September 25.[8] On Thursday, September 27, Nagai was photographing the protests near the Traders Hotel, a few blocks away from the Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon, when soldiers opened fire on demonstrators, killing Nagai and reportedly injuring another foreign journalist.[9][10]
Reports initially stated that Nagai was hit by stray bullets fired by soldiers or possibly shot from the front.
On October 8, new footage showing a Burmese soldier apparently confiscating a fallen Nagai's video camera was revealed on a Japanese news show.[12][13] Adrees Latif's photograph, depicting Nagai sprawled on the pavement before his death, won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2008.[14]
Response
Reporters Without Borders condemned the killing of Nagai, noting that Nagai was carrying a camera in his hand when he was shot, identifying him as a journalist. The director of the RWB's Washington, D.C. branch, Lucie Morillon, said that Nagai was "left to die in the street".[7]
Japanese Prime Minister
Although Nyan Win officially apologized, an October 13 article locally published in the government-owned Mirror newspaper offered a different view of the events. It claimed that Nagai had entered the country using a tourist visa instead of proper journalist visa and faulted the cameraman for failing to get a permit to cover the news inside Myanmar. It emphasized that the event occurred at the time of martial law being imposed and the soldiers could not differentiate between a Burmese citizen and a Japanese because of the resemblance in Asian looks.[16]
Nagai's father, Hideo, told the media: "I don't want Myanmar authorities and the government to resort to such measures. I want them to prevent something like this from happening again".[11] According to Japan's Foreign minister Masahiko Komura, Japan is considered curbing development aid for Myanmar.[3][17][18]
"The Group Protesting the Murder of Mr. Nagai by the Army of Myanmar" was founded by Japanese journalists, intellectuals, and celebrities in order to protest Nagai's killing and petition for the return of his camera and tape. By November 2007 the group collected 20,000 signatures, primarily in Japan. On November 26, 2007, the group posted an English version of the letter on their website and started collecting signatures internationally.[19]
Sixteen years later, in 2023, Nagai's camera and footage was returned to his sister Noriko in Bangkok. Footage shows him reporting on the arrival of armed military at the protests, shortly before a soldier fatally shot him in the chest.[20]
Kenji Nagai Award
The Burma Media Association established an award in Nagai's memory. The award aims to recognize individuals who have reported the truth about Myanmar. The first award, in 2009, was presented to Eint Khaing Oo, a Burmese female journalist.[21]
See also
- International reaction to the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests
- Hiro Muramoto, cameraman and journalist shot by a soldier in Bangkok, 2010
- Lucas Dolega, photojournalist shot by police in Tunis, 2012
References
- ^ a b c "Japanese journalist first foreign victim of Myanmar clashes". Agence France-Presse. September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri. September 29, 2007. Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ Times Online. London. Archivedfrom the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- ^ Chu, Henry (September 28, 2007). "Protests persist despite bloodshed". Business: Technology. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ^ "Myanmar Troops Kill 9 More Protesters". Associated Press. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ "Troops take back control in Myanmar". Associated Press. September 29, 2007. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ a b Gittens, Hasani (September 28, 2007). "Shocking Fotog-Slay". New York Post. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- ^ a b c "9 Killed in 2nd Day of Myanmar Crackdown". Associated Press. September 27, 2007.
- ^ "Japanese photographer killed, another foreign journalist injured" (Press release). Reporters Without Borders. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 3, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ "Japan inquiry into reporter death". BBC News. September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ Canadian Press. September 29, 2007. Archived from the originalon October 24, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
- ^ "New footage of journalist shot in Burma shows soldier leaving scene with camera". Japan News Review. October 9, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
- ^ "ミャンマー:警官カメラ持ち去る…長井さん銃撃直後の映像". Mainichi Shimbun. October 9, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
- ^ Latson, Jennifer (April 8, 2008). "Reuters photographer's risky shot wins Pulitzer". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
His photograph of the fatal shooting of a fellow journalist, the Japanese videographer Kenji Nagai, won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography on Monday.
- Mainichi Daily News. September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kyaw Min Lu (Shwe Pyi Thar) (October 13, 2007). "Prevent salt destroying the Soup (Pyipannyo cho chin lyet, Sarr ka ma phyet aung)" (PDF) (in Burmese). The Mirror. p. 6 and 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
- ^ Der Spiegel: Massenverhaftungen in Burma – Major verweigert Schießbefehl Archived October 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, October 3, 2007
- ^ AP: AP – Japan may cut aid to Myanmar to protest fatal shooting of Japanese journalist Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, October 3, 2007
- ^ "Protest Statement (the Murder of Nagai in Myanmar )". Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
- ^ "Kenji Nagai: Missing camera reveals journalist's last moments in Myanmar". BBC News. April 26, 2023. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ "Myanmar woman to get Nagai award". Kyodo News. February 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
External links
- Nagai's friends struggle for words
- The Group Protesting the Murder of Mr. Nagai by the Army of Myanmar