Claims by the Burmese government that Japanese photo-journalist Kenji Nagai had been killed by a stray bullet have been shown to be a blatant lie. Kenji Nagai was murdered on the streets of Yangon by a Burmese army soldier.

Video footage showing 50-year-old Mr Nagai being murdered on the streets of Yangon has surfaced. There is no room for doubt about the events of September 27.
Mr Nagai was photographing the pro-democracy protests near the Traders Hotel in downtown Yangon. Suddenly the Burmese army advanced and the protestors fled, the army in fast pursuit.
Standing in open ground, Mr Nagai is clearly seen recording the proceedings. As a soldier runs past he knocks Mr Nagai to the ground with his gun before aiming and shooting Mr Nagai on the ground. As the soldier continues his pursuit of the protestors Mr Nagai can be seen continuing to record events.
A still image taken by Adrees Latif shows the soldier standing over Mr Nagai, who was sprawled on the ground, still clutching his camera.
The “stray bullet” explanation proposed by the government of Myanmar as an explanation for Mr Nagai’s death can clearly be seen as being a lie. How the government of Japan will react is not known.
The whereabouts of Mr Nagai’s camera is not known.
Events leading to Kenji Nagai’s death
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He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.
He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.
In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.
Most recently he was the Thailand editor/ managing editor of AEC News Today . Prior to that he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.
In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.
Opinions and views expressed on this site are those of the author’s only. Read more at About me
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