Japan has urged Myanmar to release as early as possible a Japanese national who was detained in Yangon at the scene of an anti-coup protest, a government spokesman said Monday.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told a daily news briefing that the government is making its utmost efforts to secure the release of the man, who is in his 20s and reported by Myanmar media to be documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota.

The government has been in contact with the man's family while gathering information about his circumstances, Kihara said.