Photo Credits: Lim Sokchanlina/Angkor Photo Festival
Photo Caption: OU VisCom graduate Go Takayama, 28, is imprisoned in Cambodia.
Photo Caption: OU VisCom graduate Go Takayama, 28, is imprisoned in Cambodia.
An Ohio University photojournalism graduate has been arrested in Cambodia after taking pictures of a married couple for a project while participating in the Angkor Photo Workshop. He reportedly has been accused of — and has denied — producing pornographic content.
Cambodian police arrested photojournalist Go Takayama, 28, who is originally from Japan, on the night of Nov. 23 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. His camera was confiscated and 78 of his photographs found in the memory card have been admitted as evidence.
Based on those 78 images, local authorities accused Takayama of producing pornographic content. The photos, which depict a couple hugging and holding each other, show no nudity or explicit sexual activity, according to the Angkor Photo Workshop.
A release from the workshop said that it and all of its participants strongly support Takayama.
“We believe Takayama has been mistakenly accused, and strongly urge the authorities to acquit Takayama of all charges made against him,” spokesperson Jessica Lim said in the release.
Lim said that while there was no nudity during the photo shoot, the man had his shirt off and halfway through the shoot the woman removed her blouse as well. The man wore shorts and the woman wore pants, and there was no explicit sexual activity during the shoot, she said. The theme of Takayama’s project was “enduring love,” and Takayama had stated to others participating in the workshop that his goal was to show visuals of strong, possessive love.
The photographer was arrested as he was leaving the house where his photography subjects had taken him. A plainclothes policeman appeared and pushed Takayama back inside into a room, setting his camera down on a table, according to the workshop release. They waited for 10 minutes before a few other policemen arrived who escorted the couple and the photographer to the police station.
A hearing date has been scheduled in the case for Dec. 7, and Lim said in a phone interview Friday that her understanding from Takayama’s lawyer is that a judge will review and decide the case on that date as well as impose a penalty if the judge finds Takayama guilty. Lim said Takayama could faces one month to one year in prison and what equates to a $500 fine.
Lim charged that Cambodian authorities have made several inaccurate statements about the case. She stated in the release that Takayama never hired sex workers to take him to brothels to photograph women. Also, she reiterated that there is no nudity in the photographs. All 78 photographs show the same couple, she said, noting that before the shoot Takayama explained his purpose behind the project and the couple had consented and given their permission.
“Takayama’s photographs were produced solely as part of his photo project as required by his participation in the Angkor Photo Workshops,” Lim said. “He does not have, and never had, any intention to distribute or publish the images as pornographic content.”
She said Takayama has never photographed sexual acts and that these pictures were part of a series of images intended to show his view on a Cambodian folktale called, “Seven Color Princess.” The other photographs include scenes from weddings, a Siem Reap street scene, boxing matches, pagodas, religion, culture, and crocodile farms.
The idea of “strong, possessive love” that Takayama intended to demonstrate with the photographs comes from part of the folktale involving a crocodile and a princess. In the story, when the crocodile found out the princess was going to leave to marry another man, it ended up eating the princess so that she would remain with it forever.
Takayama graduated from OU in 2008 with degrees in visual communications and political science. He has won numerous awards, and his work has been published in places locally such as Southeast Ohio Magazine, the Soul of Athens and The Post at OU.
Terry Eiler, director of OU’s School of Visual Communication, said Friday that Takayama has traveled extensively throughout the world and has received notable recognition for the strength of his work.
“I would say that he is exceptionally well-traveled, and very internationally grounded in how one works in any situation,” he said.
Eiler pointed out that under a workshop umbrella, Takayama would havee been working through a process that included arrangements and approval for the work he was doing.
“Certainly while he was here, there was never any indication that he was problematic,” Eiler said, adding that he was drafting a letter in support of Takayama as a solid, responsible, professional photojournalist.
When contacted by The Athens NEWS, the Cambodian embassy in Washington, D.C., was unable to provide comment on the matter.
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