Sunday marks three years since the Japanese doctor and humanitarian aid worker Nakamura Tetsu was gunned down in Afghanistan.

Nakamura was fatally shot in the eastern province of Nangarhar on December 4, 2019. He was 73 years old at the time.

Nakamura was the local head of the Japanese NGO, Peshawar-kai. He had dedicated himself to improving the lives of the Afghan people. In October, a plaza was built in the provincial capital of Jalalabad to honor him.

The Afghan intelligence agency and other authorities launched an investigation into the killing of Nakamura immediately after it occurred.

Some Taliban leaders stated that they intended to take over the probe after the group assumed power in August, 2021. But they have not made any progress, and no suspects have been identified.

The Taliban's deputy spokesperson, Bilal Karimi, told NHK that the previous government should have investigated the case more thoroughly in the early stages.