Europe

Japanese journalist injured in missile attack on Kyiv

AP
Police stand in front of damaged hotel at the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv on Saturday.

Jiji Press

0:06 JST, January 1, 2023

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—A Japanese journalist is among people injured in a missile attack on Kyiv apparently by Russia on Saturday, according to Vitali Klitschko, mayor of the Ukrainian capital.

Klitschko disclosed the information on messaging app Telegram.

Meanwhile, the online version of the major Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun said that the injured journalist is Wataru Sekita, 36, a member of its visual reporting section.

He is receiving treatment at a hospital for his injury in the leg, according to the newspaper.

The local newspaper Ukrainska Pravda said that the attack killed at least one person and injured 20.

A photograph posted on Telegram shows an injured man purported to be the Japanese journalist being carried by two Ukrainian military people.

The man, believed to be injured in the leg, does not seem to be in a life-threatening condition. The photo shows a camera hanging from his neck.

He is believed to be the first Japanese journalist injured in Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian aggression. Meanwhile, a Japanese volunteer fighter died in a battle in eastern Ukraine in November 2022.