Mika Yamamoto 's first day in Syria would also be her last . A veteran war reporter , Yamamoto had accepted an assignment to cover the increasing violence in the country last month , as she had in the past in Afghanistan , Iraq and the Balkans . Kazutaka Sato was her partner both in and out of work -- they both worked for Japan Press , an independent television news provider . He was just meters from her when she was shot . Sato had covered many war zones with Yamamoto and describes her passion for journalism . `` I think it was her firm belief that you can stop a war with journalism ... she would also turn her attention to children . I believe she wanted to tell the world how they are hurt , dead and bruised in their hearts . '' Japanese journalist killed in Syria . Sato says he is not coping well with her loss and the only way he can find peace is to learn exactly what happened to his common-law wife . He says they were in the besieged city of Aleppo with the rebel Free Syrian Army when he saw 10 to 15 men walking towards them . `` At first I thought it was the Free Syrian Army , and we were on the same side so I held up my camera and started shooting . It was then that it happened . '' Sato describes seeing one man in an olive green helmet , which made him think they were from the Syrian Army , but there was no way to be certain . As he turned and ran , he heard gunshots , followed by an automatic weapon firing . `` I thought I was going to be hit and that 's when I was separated from Mika , '' he says . For the next hour he tried to find her , believing she was fine . `` At no point did I think that she had died , '' he says . `` I asked a rebel fighter where Mika was . He told me , 'She 's at the hospital , go and see for yourself . ' At that point I pretty much imagined what had happened to her ... On the first floor of the hospital , in the lobby to the left on a stretcher , I saw a body wrapped in a sheet . And I knew then it was Mika . '' Video of slain journalist 's final hours . Sato believes Mika was targeted because she was a foreign journalist . He says one of the armed men had shouted , `` There they are , the Japanese , '' but it is difficult to determine exactly what was said from the video that captured her final moments . Sato watches that footage -- filmed by Yamamoto when she was hit by the bullet -- for the first time . `` In the video she 's alive , '' he says in a quiet voice . `` I do n't know how I 'm going to deal with this , I can hear her voice . '' He has asked the Syrian government through the embassy in Tokyo to look into her death but says he holds little hope for an answer . `` I need to know what happened to her , '' he says . `` Mika was the best part of my professional and personal life . She was my right hand , my left hand , my everything . I have no idea what to do now she 's no longer here . ''
Veteran war correspondent Mari Tanaka was killed while reporting in Syria last month . Her partner Kazutaka Sato was just yards away when she was killed . Sato believes she was targeted because she was a foreign journalist . He says he will not find peace until he knows what happened to her .