Several people, including a Japanese national, have been found dead following protests in Burma, Japanese officials said Thursday, citing Burmese officials.
Japanese Embassy officials in Rangoon were told by Burma's Foreign Ministry that one of the several people found dead following protests Thursday was believed to be a Japanese man, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.
He said, however, other details, including how they died, were not immediately known.
Embassy officials headed for a hospital to confirm the death, the ministry official said.
Kyodo News agency later said embassy officials could not identify the body.
The man killed was believed to be a 50-year-old journalist, Kanji Nagai, according to Japanese video news agency APF News, which had a contract with him.
Nagai had been covering the protests in Yangon since Tuesday, APF representative Toru Yamaji told The Associated Press.
Yamaji said he last spoke with Nagai in Thursday afternoon but has lost contact with him since.
"It was extremely regrettable that the accident occurred as a result of a crackdown on protests," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said on a televised news show on public broadcaster NHK. "We urge (Burma) to respond calmly."
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Hitoshi Kimura summoned Burmese Ambassador to Japan Hla Myint to express "regret" over the reported death of a Japanese, and urged him to take appropriate measures to resolve the unrest in his country, another ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Kimura expressed concerns about the safety of Japanese nationals in Burma.
More than 600 Japanese live in Burma, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Japanese Foreign Ministry raised a travel advisory to a warning Wednesday, urging Japanese nationals to avoid trips to Burma and advised those already in the area to use utmost caution.
Japanese Embassy officials in Rangoon were told by Burma's Foreign Ministry that one of the several people found dead following protests Thursday was believed to be a Japanese man, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.
He said, however, other details, including how they died, were not immediately known.
Embassy officials headed for a hospital to confirm the death, the ministry official said.
Kyodo News agency later said embassy officials could not identify the body.
The man killed was believed to be a 50-year-old journalist, Kanji Nagai, according to Japanese video news agency APF News, which had a contract with him.
Nagai had been covering the protests in Yangon since Tuesday, APF representative Toru Yamaji told The Associated Press.
Yamaji said he last spoke with Nagai in Thursday afternoon but has lost contact with him since.
"It was extremely regrettable that the accident occurred as a result of a crackdown on protests," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said on a televised news show on public broadcaster NHK. "We urge (Burma) to respond calmly."
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Hitoshi Kimura summoned Burmese Ambassador to Japan Hla Myint to express "regret" over the reported death of a Japanese, and urged him to take appropriate measures to resolve the unrest in his country, another ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Kimura expressed concerns about the safety of Japanese nationals in Burma.
More than 600 Japanese live in Burma, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Japanese Foreign Ministry raised a travel advisory to a warning Wednesday, urging Japanese nationals to avoid trips to Burma and advised those already in the area to use utmost caution.
