Issue Briefing No. 73

I am a Yangon Citizen Living inTokyo: Interview with Journalist
Yuki Kitazumi
Interviewer and writer: Jeong Minhee(Doctoral student, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
June 28, 2024

*This article was written based on the interview conducted on March 11, 2024.

Tokyo,Kitazumi,

forfeels

Yuki
likeaforeign land. The senseof living an ordinary life
is what is missing for him
these days in Tokyo. He
had led a fulfilling life
workingwithMyanmarpeople in Yangon before
the coup.
In 2021, however, hiscolleagues were imprisoned or scattered to other cities. Some are likely
never to see him again. Mr. Kitazumi himself was imprisoned twice by themilitary junta. He was released earlier than his colleagues, but was forced toreturn home without a livelihood. Coming back to Tokyo, so different fromYangon, he could not help but feel a sense of discomfort.
Roughly a decade ago, he had decided to stay in Yangon a little longer.

1I am a Yangon Citizen Living in Tokyo

Issue Briefing No. 73
At that time, he was working as a journalist at the Nikkei Shimbun, focusing
on the social and educational fields. He recalls that he was “someonestanding close to the ring, but never fighting directly." After witnessing
uncountable and indescribable fights, he gradually came to hope to “fight in
the ring" himself. He quit his job and took up the challenge of throwing
himself into the field of education first, but later decided to return to news
reporting.
Around 2014, after traveling to different countries searching for hisstage, he stayed in Myanmar. He was interested in whether elections would
be held. He worked there for about a year doing editorial-related work, took
two semesters of Myanmar language courses at the University of Yangon,
and then set up a small company in his living space.
He said that, at first, it was hard to get
accustomed to the vivacity of the Myanmarpeopleasdemocracy,

they
as

took
well

each

as

step

their

towardremarkable

kindness. “When I left my phone in the cab
and got out, the driver went out of his way tocome back and ask people to look for a
foreigner who forgot his phone.” It took sometime for him to understand that the act of
casual helpfulness was a natural concept forMyanmar people, but Mr. Kitazumi gradually
opened up to them.
As the younger generation in Myanmar
freely spoke out in the film industry, hewanted to support them in more specific andexplicit ways. He made a short comedy film about the rice noodle and fish
soup known as Mohinga, a dish too close to the lives of the local people toattract attention. The film featured a character who fights the dictatorshipby making and selling delicious Mohinga. His film won a prize at the film
festival in New York, and its script was used as educational material for theJapanese and Burmese languages. He supported the dream of the Myanmarpeople to move towards democracy in Yangon by making effective use of hisskills.
Recently, Mr. Kitazumi made a visit to Thailand. He had received cameras

2I am a Yangon Citizen Living in Tokyo

Issue Briefing No. 73
and cards from across Japan, with messages of encouragement for theMyanmar people. He delivered them to those who are in Thailand, along witha translation of the messages. Every time he met journalists exhausted by
the solitary struggle and told them of people who were thinking of them, he
too felt his soul relieved. After a stay of several weeks in Thailand hereturned to Japan, which is where I interviewed him.
Mr. Kitazumi could not stay silent as people forgot Myanmar’s story. He
had the skills to make the story visible to the public eyes. He filmed a shortmovie replete with Myanmar people’s joy, stumbling, loss, hope, and last
moments with beloved ones. He subtitled the video in Japanese and English,
and then began posting it on the online platform Docu Athan.
No one knows for sure when peace will come to Myanmar. Anticipating a
return to Yangon soon after the situation is settled, he has not beenenthusiastic to take on a long-term commitment in Tokyo. Nonetheless, hefeels a need for connection with the place where his heart is. He made asmall platform where he could contact local people who encouraged him, andcolleagues who could no longer work together. There he feels he breathes
in and out, and regains the rhythm of life.
In downtown Tokyo, he stares atpeople who want to go home but cannot.
As he views the volunteers collecting
donations

forMyanmar,Mr.

Kitazumi

thinks about what they do not give voice
tosuch as

what happens after

thefundraising? How much hard work will be
required before the money is safely
delivered? In many cases, people involvedin the process make great efforts, which
often go unacknowledged. Still, he wasimpressed by those who recognized theirefforts. He recollected a short conversation between a mother and herdaughter of around eight years old, who tried to donate.
“Do you want to donate? I'm not sure if the donation is legit.”“Mom, they’re surely gonna deliver the money. Cause they’re trying

3

I am a Yangon Citizen Living in Tokyo

Issue Briefing No. 73
their hardest to speak up.”
He can understand the cautious reaction of his friends who sometimes
ask if the donation is authentic. Mr. Kitazumi, however, said that he wants
more people to know the feelings of those who continue their activities
despite the knowledge of how hard it is to deliver something to thedestination. He says:“People in Myanmar grow up from a very young age voluntarily
speaking out and collecting money for those in need. They know thatthey need someone to hand over the money when they finish raising
it, and that the process can be challenging. Finding a trustworthy
person is not easy, and the process involved is costly. It is not thateasy, and depending on the organization's activities, donations may
fail. Even knowing such a process, people in Myanmar still donate.
Say, when you go to a certain restaurant and pay 1,000 yen for achicken curry, but you might feel it is less delicious than youexpected. Even so, you decide to go to the restaurant again justbecause the waiter is kind. I hope the same thing will happen withdonations. It’s okay to decide to donate 1,000 yen because that
person is working hard and speaking up.”
When he left the Insein Prison, he made a promise to those who remained
there. They said goodbye with the following words: “If we are released andthis country is still under a dictatorship, people will not be able to speak
freely, and we will have to go back to prison. But your country is different.
You should go back and tell people what is happening in Myanmar; tell ourstory on our behalf.”
We closed the interview hoping for the day when peace comes toMyanmar and Mr. Yuki Kitazumi can return to Yangon.

*This article is titled after Ryun-hee Kim‘ｓ book, I am a Pyeongyang citizen living in Daegu(Originally 나는 대구에 사는 평양시민입니다).

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I am a Yangon Citizen Living in Tokyo

Issue Briefing No. 73【Translated by】
Nakajima Takahiro (Master’s student, Graduate School of Law, HitotsubashiUniversity)

Yuki Kitazumi Profile
Yuki Kitazumi is a journalist and co-founder of Docu Athan, a platform
supporting Myanmar journalists. He was born in Tokyo in 1975. After his job
at Nihon Keizai Shimbun, he moved to Yangon in 2014. In 2021, he wasdetained twice in Yangon.

5I am a Yangon Citizen Living in Tokyo