Camera of Japanese journalist slain in Myanmar returned after 16 years

BANGKOK: When Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead by Myanmar troops as he covered anti-military protests in 2007, his video camera disappeared, along with the last images he filmed.

On Wednesday, 16 years and a secret journey out of Myanmar later, the camera and its contents were handed back to his family, who hope the footage will hold clues to the final moments of his life.

Nagai had travelled to Myanmar to cover monk-led demonstrations against the then-junta for APF News, a small Tokyo-based agency that specialises in reports from danger zones.

He was killed on September 27, 2007 after troops opened fire on demonstrators near Yangon´s famous Sule Pagoda, bringing renewed international attention to the generals´ brutal crackdown.

A photo of Nagai lying on the road, a soldier in combat uniform and sandals standing over him and holding a gun, won a Pulitzer prize in 2008.

Nagai´s sister Noriko Ogawa said on Wednesday she was “thrilled and filled with joy” to have retrieved her brother´s camera. She had given up hope of ever seeing the footage, she said, after Myanmar authorities ignored her request to return it to her.

“I think my brother was waiting for this day too,” she said. “I want to bring it to his grave.” Nobody has been charged in relation to Nagai´s death and Myanmar officials claimed the killing was an “accident”.