Freed Japan filmmaker reveals arrest, sham trial in Myanmar

Filming 30-second protests landed Toru Kubota a 10-year jail term

20221128 Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota

Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota: "I needed to film a flash protest, during which protesters only have about 30 seconds to voice their opposition."

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- Demonstrators against the military regime in Myanmar now have only 30 seconds to protest, said Toru Kubota, a Japanese filmmaker who was recently released from prison in the country.

Kubota knew he risked arrest to film such a protest, he said in an interview with Nikkei Asia, as he recounted the moment of being detained by security forces in Yangon, the nation's biggest city. He returned to Japan on Nov. 18.

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