Japanese news anchor breaks down on air while reporting on Putin’s hailing of Bucha massacre soldiers

April 22, 2022

A Japanese news anchor broke down on air while reporting on Russian President Vladimir Putin honoring the soldiers who oversaw the Bucha massacre.

The TV anchor, identified as Yumiko Matsuo, is seen fighting back tears while pausing momentarily in a viral clip posted to Reddit on Wednesday.

“She had just shown clips of children hiding in the bunker of the Mariupol steel mill and was overcome with emotion,” Reddit user /u/thefathermucker captioned the post.

“There are still many civilians stuck in the bunker. I’m so sorry, excuse me…” Matsuo said as she tried to compose herself. “The Ukrainian war has entered a new phase…”

Matsuo was reporting about the honorary title of “Guards” that Putin bestowed upon the military unit that committed the war crimes in Ukraine’s Bucha region, where more than 300 dead bodies were found.

Putin praised Russia’s 64th Detached Motor Rifle Brigade for acting with “great valor and courage” and for “defending the sovereignty of Russia” in a signed letter on April 18.

“Through shrewd and bold actions during the Special Military Operations in Ukraine, the unit’s personnel became a role model in the fulfillment of their military duty, valor, dedication and professionalism,” his statement read.

Many Reddit users praised Matsuo’s courage as they empathized with her overwhelming emotion regarding the news report.

“Goes to show how deeply this all resonates on a soul-deep level,” one user said. “We all feel righteous rage and want to protect each other.”

“That from someone in a culture extremely adept at covering up emotions in public,” another user replied.

“I lived in Japan for 1.5 years during uni, and I’ve never ever seen a Japanese news announcer show any sign of emotion whatsoever,” another user wrote. “I can’t believe how upset she must have been to have shown this much feeling on television.”

Featured Image via /u/thefathermucker

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