Japanese filmmaker jailed for 10 years in Myanmar

A Japanese filmmaker has been jailed for 10 years for encouraging dissent against the military and violating electronic communications law, a diplomatic source told AFP on Thursday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February last year, sparking an uprising and military crackdown that has left thousands dead.

A diplomat at Japan's embassy in Myanmar said on Wednesday that Toru Kubota, 26, was arrested in July in Yangon, along with two Myanmar citizens, was sentenced by the court in Yangon's Insein prison.

He was charged with breaching immigration charges because of a law that criminalises encouraging dissent against the military.

The dissent charge has a maximum jail term of three years and has been widely used in the crackdown on opposition to the coup.

The immigration charge's next hearing would take place next Wednesday, the source said.

A junta spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

According to a profile on Filmfreeway, Kubota has previously made documentaries on Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority and refugees and ethnic issues in Myanmar.