Fri Sep 28, 11:19 PM ET

TOKYO - Japan lodged a protest with Myanmar over the death of a Japanese journalist during a crackdown on protesters and said it will dispatch a senior official to press the country to respond to international concerns, an official said Saturday.

Kenji Nagai, 50, was among at least nine people killed Thursday when soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of pro-democracy demonstrators.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura protested Nagai's death, calling it "extremely regrettable," in a meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday, according to a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

Nyan Win said he was "extremely sorry" for the death, and added that the Myanmar government hopes to exercise self-restraint, the official said.

Tokyo has so far ruled out immediate sanctions against Myanmar. Komura suggested that tougher steps could be taken.

Officials have said Nagai, who was carrying a video camera, was believed to have been shot in the chest. A video broadcast by Japan's Fuji Television Network appeared to show a soldier directly shooting him in the front.

Komura pressed Nyan Win for an accounting of what happened, the official said.