Japanese Journalists Call for Myanmar Junta to Free Detained Colleague

TOKYO - A group of journalists in Japan called on Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to free a colleague, Yuki Kitazumi, detained in Yangon following a crackdown on media amid ongoing protests against the military overthrow of an elected government. 

"We want the junta to stop oppressing the citizens of Myanmar, and we seek the swift release of the many detained journalists, including Kitazumi, who strive to tell the truth," Isoko Mochizuki, a fellow journalist and long-time friend of Kitazumi, told a news conference.  The group of journalists started an online petition on Monday addressed to Myanmar's junta and the Japanese government calling for Kitazumi's release. So far about 2,000 people have signed the petition.  The journalists have asked the Japanese government to apply more pressure on the Myanmar authorities to free Kitazumi, who was detained on Sunday evening by the military outside his home in Yangon for allegedly "spreading falsehoods."