Japanese documentary makers deported from Indonesia

JAYAPURA, Indonesia: Six Japanese documentary makers have been deported from Indonesia after being caught trying to make a film in the sensitive province of Papua without the correct visas, an immigration official said.

The men, who were working for Nagano Production House, were flown out of the country on Thursday after being arrested while filming a documentary about tribespeople in the town of Wamena, said local immigration chief Yopie Watimena.

Indonesia is deeply sensitive about journalists covering the easternmost province, where a low-level insurgency against the central government has simmered for decades, and rarely grants visas for foreigners to report independently in the region. The men were deported just days after Indonesia hosted the United Nations’ World Press Freedom Day. Intelligence agency officials reported the documentary makers to immigration authorities after noticing them filming and they were sent to Papua’s provincial capital Jayapura for questioning before being deported.