Wife of Japanese journalist who vanished in Khmer Rouge Cambodia writes memoir

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Wife of Japan journalist who vanished in 70s Cambodia writes memoir
June 6, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The wife of a Japanese journalist who went missing in Cambodia after entering an area controlled by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s has self-published a memoir chronicling her attempt to find out his fate and come to terms with his disappearance.

Yoko Ishiyama's husband Koki was bureau chief of Kyodo News in Phnom Penh when he vanished in October 1973 while covering the civil war between the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government and the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge. It was to have been his final assignment before wrapping up his stint in Phnom Penh.

Koki Ishiyama was 30 at the time, while Yoko was 27. With her husband thousands of miles away, she and the couple's children, a 2-year-old boy and months-old girl, were living with her parents in Kyoto.

After the correspondent's disappearance, his Japanese colleagues and others tried to find him but years went by without any promising leads.

A field investigation conducted by Kyodo in 1981 after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed found that Koki Ishiyama had died of illness in around January 1974 in a mountainous area of Kampong Speu Province in central Cambodia that was a stronghold of Khmer Rouge insurgents. A villager who tended to him until his death told investigators that he was also buried there.

In January 2008, Yoko Ishiyama, the couple's daughter Mieko and her husband's colleagues visited the mountain where his remains were said to have been interred, in a bid to locate his burial site.

After their search was unsuccessful, Ishiyama brought the couple's son Kenkichi along on another mission in January 2009 and located his presumed burial site. They returned home after making offerings such as incense, liquor and cigarettes there.

Ishiyama, now 75, says she wanted to convey in her memoir that it was a series of coincidences that led her and the others who went looking for him to learn how her husband had died. She describes a chance meeting with a woman who gave the crucial testimony about her husband's last days and weeks that ultimately led to her finding the spot in the jungle where he is buried.

She also wrote about other journalists who met a similar fate covering Cambodia in the chaotic period between 1970 and 1975. More than 30 local and foreign journalists lost their lives there during the period, including Japanese photographers Taizo Ichinose and Kyoichi Sawada.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20 ... et/019000c

[SternAAlbifrons]

Wow.
I had heard of this guy but that's about all.

A great story, in that his wife uncovered what happened and even tracked down the villagers that were with him at the end.
This is so important for those left behind, for them to be able to come to some resolution. Especially for cultures like the Japanese that believe in a spirit-life.

Its kind of in my backyard (if i ever get back there) so my interest is piquant by this report. I think i might try to find out a bit more.
- including the location of his burial/memorial site.
If anybody knows or comes across any further details of this whole story - please post.

[SternAAlbifrons]

A List of Journalists Missing in the Indochina War (in Cambodia)
The Associated Press
November 28, 1991
Here is a list of the 19 journalists missing in the Indochina War, their nationality, organization, year and place missing when available:

(nb. I believe this list is incomplete for foreigners - AND does not mention the many killed or missing Cambodian journalists)

1. Sean Flynn, American, freelance photographer-reporter on assignment for Time magazine. Captured April 6, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

2. Dana Stone, American, freelance cameraman on assignment for CBS News. Captured April 6, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

3. Welles Hangen, American, correspondent, NBC News. Captured May 31, 1970, en route to Takeo, Cambodia.

4. Terry Reynolds, American, newsman, United Press International. Missing in Cambodia, 1972.

5. Gilles Caron, French, photographer-reporter, Gamma Agency of Paris. Captured in April 1970 on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

6. Claude Arpin, French, photographer-reporter, on assignment for Newsweek magazine. Captured April 5, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

7. Guy Hannoteaux, French, correspondent for L’Express of Paris. Captured April 6, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

8. Roger Colne, French, sound technician, NBC News. Captured May 31, 1970, en route to Takeo, Cambodia.

9. Akira Kusaka, Japanese, correspondent for Fuji Television. Captured April 5, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

10. Yujiro Takagi, Japanese, cameraman for Fuji Television. Captured April 5, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1 near Vietnam’s border.

11. Takeshi Yanagisawa, Japanese, correspondent for Nihon Denpa News. Missing in southern Cambodia, April 1970.

12. Yoshihiko Waku, Japanese, cameraman for NBC News. Captured May 31, 1970, en route to Takeo, Cambodia.

13. Kojiro Sakai, Japanese, sound technician for CBS News. Captured May 31, 1970, en route to Takeo, Cambodia.

14. Tomoharu Ishii, Japanese, camerman for CBS News. Captured May 31, 1970, en route to Takeo, Cambodia.

15. Koki Ishiyama, Japanese, chief of bureau in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the Kyodo News Service. Missing in northwestern Cambodia, Dec. 26, 1973.

16. Willy Mettler, Swiss, freelance photographer-reporter. Captured April 16, 1970, near Kampot, Cambodia.

17. Dieter Bellendorf, German, cameraman for NBC News. Captured April 8, 1970, on Cambodia Route 1.

18. Georg Gensluckner, Austrian, freelance photographer-reporter. Captured April 8, 1970, near Svay Rieng, Cambodia.

19. Alan Hirons, Australian, freelance. Missing in Cambodia, 1972.

[Biffsm]

Such an important topic.
I picked up a collector's special edition of the Killing Fields my last trip to US.
No telling how many journos were disappeared.