Myanmar Releases Detained Japanese Filmmaker

Bangkok, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)--Myanmar's military junta released Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota on Thursday after detaining him for more than three months in Yangon, its largest city.

Kubota appears to have departed the country from Yangon International Airport, and is expected to arrive in Japan on Friday.

He was detained on July 30 when filming a protest in Yangon against Myanmar's military coup. He was given a prison sentence of 10 years in total and sent to the city's Insein prison, where many political prisoners are held.

Myanmar's military charged Kubota with violating the immigration control law, accusing him of engaging in news-gathering activities after entering the country on a tourist visa.

He was also charged with sedition for taking part in the protest and spreading alleged misinformation about the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]