A 58-year old Japanese journalist planned to travel to Syria when the government seized his passport, AFP reports.
Yuichi Sugimoto has allegedly covered various conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria throughout his career.
"Tonight, an official with the foreign ministry's passport division came and took my passport," Sugimoto told the Asahi Shumbun.
"What happens to my freedom to travel and freedom of the press?"
Seizing the man's passport appears to be Japan's attempt to protect its citizens after journalist Kenji Goto and security contractor Haruna Yukawa were beheaded by Daesh just last month.
