Thu Sep 27, 8:57 AM ET

TOKYO - A Japanese man who Thursday became the first foreigner killed in protests in Myanmar was a video journalist, his agency said.

Kenji Nagai, 50, was working for APF News, a video and photo agency based in Tokyo, a spokesman for the company said.

He said Nagai worked on a contract and was dispatched in the past to trouble spots. He had entered Myanmar two days ago on the eve of the crackdown against the mass protests led by thousands of Buddhist monks, he said.

"The foreign ministry informed us today that the passport bearing the name of our journalist, Kenji Nagai, was found with the body and right now the foreign ministry is trying to make the final assertion it is him," he said.

A foreign ministry official said an embassy official confirmed that the dead man was carrying a Japanese passport with him.