Myanmar sentences Japanese journalist to prison on 2 charges

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced a Japanese journalist to serve seven years prison after he filmed an anti-government protest. A Japanese diplomat said Toru Kubota was sentenced Wednesday to seven years for violating the electronic transactions law and three years for incitement. The sentences are to be served concurrently. Kubota was arrested by plainclothes police after taking photos and videos of a flash protest in Yangon. Kubota was the fifth foreign journalist detained in Myanmar after the military seized power in 2021. The four others were eventually deported before finishing their sentences. Many local journalists have also been arrested. The military tightly restricts media operations, and independent outlets are forced to operate underground or abroad.