was a Japanese TV

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, who worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in the 1990s, and who reported for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

television for more than 15 years. Muramoto was based in Reuters'

bureau Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

. Muramoto was the first reporter killed during the 2010 Thai street protests. Photojournalist Fabio Polenghi died in another demonstration on May 19, 2010.

Career

A graduate of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

(Japan Campus), Muramoto worked at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and then ABC. He joined Reuters as a freelance cameraman in 1992 and became full-time in 1995. During his time with Reuters, he traveled to high-risk areas

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(during political instability). He also covered human-interest stories such as ''Tokyo monkey-waiters'' and ''the man who married a character from a video game''. Also active in charity projects, Muramoto walked 100 km in two days in the areas around

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

to raise money for impoverished communities in Africa. His plan was to attend this walk for a third time starting April 22.

Death

Muramoto was shot and killed on April 10, 2010, while covering violent clashes during the 2010 Thai political protests between Thai troops and anti-government protesters. Muramoto was filming clashes between protests and government forces on Rajdamnoen Road in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. Muramoto was shot in the chest during the clash. The bullet exited his back, though doctors could not tell what type of bullet. Lisa Twaronite: "The last footage in Hiro's camera, returned to Reuters by the protesters, shows a chaotic scene. Soldiers and another cameraman fled after an explosion, but Hiro kept shooting, backing slowly away. He was killed by a gunshot wound to his chest, with the bullet exiting his body through his back...In order to have functioning markets and a healthy economy, political and social stability is a given. This is why you don't read stories on MarketWatch like "Five best plays in North Korea," or "Where the Sudanese pound is headed next." True stability isn't possible without credible verification -- a government can simply declare business as usual, with everything secure and under control, and events can prove otherwise. That's why general news reporters, photographers and cameramen risk their lives, to document dangerous events as they unfold, and allow the world to see the real situation on the ground. In other words, Hiro died doing a job that made my own job possible." Muramoto was taken to Klang Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to hospital director, Dr. Pichaya Nakwatchara. He was 43 years old and survived by his wife, Emiko, and two children. The Thai military initially claimed to be shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, and only shooting live rounds into the air. However, video footage showed soldiers firing assault rifles in fully automatic fire mode in the direction of protesters. Protest leaders claimed that a number of people were hit by army snipers from nearby buildings.The Australian
Bullets killed Thai red-shirt protesters
13 April 2010 The military later admitted that troops fired live rounds directly at protesters, allegedly shooting only single rounds to protect injured troops retreating from the clashes.Bangkok Post
Military admits firing at reds
, 15 April 2010

Reactions

Reuters

Editor-in-Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

David Schlesinger reacted in response to Muramoto's death, "I am dreadfully saddened to have lost our colleague Hiro Muramoto in the Bangkok clashes...

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

can be a terribly dangerous profession as those who try to tell the world the story thrust themselves in the center of the action. The entire Reuters family will mourn this tragedy." A Thai Army spokesperson claimed that protesters had attacked soldiers with

grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...

and petrol bombs before troops responded. The 2010 clashes, which led to calls for the resignation of Prime Minister

Abhisit Vejjajiva Abhisit Vejjajiva (; , , ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in t ...

's government, have been the worst political violence in Bangkok for 18 years.

Career

Death

Reactions

See also

References

Further reading and resources