Myanmar authorities detained a Japanese journalist in Yangon on Sunday night, the Japanese government said on Monday, adding that it was seeking release.
The Burmese BBC quoted a witness as saying that freelance journalist Yuki Kitazumi was taken from his home on Sunday night and arrested. He was asked to raise both hands and was taken away in a car.
The Japanese government spokesman described the journalist as a man in his forties, without naming him.
“We are seeking Myanmar for its speedy release, and we are trying to secure the safety of Japanese citizens,” Katsunobu Kato, chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference, adding that the government was seeking details on the circumstances surrounding the detention of the journalist.
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls for comment.
Kitazumi runs a media production company, Yangon Media Professionals, and was previously a daily journalist at the Nikkei company, according to his Facebook page and interviews with online media.
He was arrested earlier in February while protesting against the February 1 coup, but was released shortly thereafter.
According to the activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 737 people have been killed by security forces since the coup and 3,229 remain in custody.
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