Photographer awarded for revealing Kyrgyz bride kidnappings

Photographer awarded for revealing Kyrgyz bride kidnappings

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken Sept. 13, 2013, in Tokyo shows Noriko Hayashi, a photojournalist who has become the first Japanese to win the top honor called the Visa d'or feature award at the Visa pour l'Image Festival in Perpignan, southern France, for a series of photos depicting the kidnapping of a woman for a forced marriage.

Japan photographer wins award

Japan photographer wins award

PERPIGNAN, France - The award-winning pictures taken by Japanese photographer Noriko Hayashi of a bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan. Hayashi won the top award for feature reporting at an international festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, southern France, on Sept. 6, 2013. The 29-year-old freelancer won the Visa d'or Feature Award at Visa pour l'image for her series of photographs of the kidnapping of a young woman for forced marriage.

Japan photographer wins award

Japan photographer wins award

PERPIGNAN, France - Japanese photographer Noriko Hayashi wins the top award for feature reporting at an annual international festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, southern France, on Sept. 6, 2013. The 29-year-old freelancer won the Visa d'or Feature Award at Visa pour l'image for her series of photographs of a bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, in which a man kidnapped a young woman for forced marriage.

Japan photographer wins award

Japan photographer wins award

PERPIGNAN, France - Japanese photographer Noriko Hayashi is pictured in Perpignan, southern France, on Sept. 6, 2013, where she won the top award for feature reporting at an annual international festival of photojournalism. The 29-year-old freelancer won the Visa d'or Feature Award at Visa pour l'image for her series of photographs of a bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, in which a man kidnapped a young woman for forced marriage.

Photo collection captures memories of Yazidis

Photo collection captures memories of Yazidis

Noriko Hayashi, a Tokyo-based freelance photographer, holds her new collection "The Prayer of the Yazidis" on Jan. 25, 2017. The photo book focuses on the fate of the ethno-religious minority, who fled their homeland in Iraq following an invasion by the Islamic State. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo