A video camera believed to have belonged to a Japanese journalist killed in Myanmar has been returned to his family.

Nagai Kenji was fatally shot in Yangon while covering a 2007 protest against the military regime. His camera went missing, but it was finally returned to his sister in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The Democratic Voice of Burma, a local news outlet, gave the camera to Nagai's sister, Ogawa Noriko. It said it obtained the camera before the 2021 coup, but wouldn't say how.

The images recovered from the camera appear to show Nagai moments before he was shot by security forces in Yangon.
Nagai can be heard describing the scene as heavily armed troops arrive to disperse protesters. It ends with a blurred image of the ground.

After returning to Japan, his sister told NHK she had almost given up getting the camera back after such a long time.

She said: "I'm so relieved and pleased to receive the thing my brother had at his final moment. But at the same time, my heart aches as I imagine the moment he was killed."

She also said she hopes Nagai's footage will prompt more people to think again about the situation in Myanmar.

"We tend to forget about what has been happening in Myanmar. But I hope his video will help people take a look at the country once again and feel like doing something to help the people there," she said.

Nagai's sister said she will ask police and experts to examine the camera to confirm it was her brother's.