Japan foreign ministry says reporter killed in Syria

TOKYO – Japan’s foreign ministry confirmed Tuesday that a woman reporter had been killed in Syria as she was reporting on the conflict-wracked country.

The ministry confirmed the reporter was Mika Yamamoto, 45, said an official in charge of Japanese nationals’ safety abroad.

“She was at reporting work in Aleppo, northern Syria, when she was caught in gunfire,” the official said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported that an unnamed Japanese female journalist had died in Aleppo, the scene of heavy fighting in recent days and weeks, and three other reporters were missing.