Japan Will Stop Giving Assistance And Urge Aung San Suu Kyi’s Release Regarding The Myanmar Military Coup

Demonstrations against Myanmar's military coup. (Twitter / @ David_Khaing_)

JAKARTA - Japan, as one of Myanmar's main donor countries, plans to temporarily suspend assistance to Myanmar. This was carried out amid growing international criticism of the Myanmar military coup.

"The Japanese government is considering suspending an aid project for Myanmar temporarily in response to a military coup earlier this month", said a government official source, reported The Irrawaddy, Thursday, February 25.

However, continued the source, Japan still plans to continue the emergency assistance offered through international organizations and non-governmental organizations, such as for handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan, which has a longstanding relationship with the Myanmar military, has chosen to stay away from the word of sanctions against the coup regime leader, as did many developed countries, such as US President Joe Biden.

"Unlike other G-7 partners, Japan maintains relations with the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw)", said the official.

"Japan intends to continue efforts to convince the Myanmar military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained, and to immediately restore democratic rule in Myanmar", he added.

For information, Japan provided official development assistance with a total value of up to 1.8 billion US dollars in 2019. This is the largest among 30 member countries of the Organizational Development Assistance Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, in 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once told Aung San Suu Kyi, Japan's public and private sectors would contribute around 800 billion yen over five years for agriculture, human resources, manufacturing, energy, urban development, and financial services. which is important for nation-building in Myanmar.