The Japanese Parliamentary Association for Supporting Myanmar’s Democratization, a group of parliamentarians calling for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, submitted a 15-point appeal to Japan’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takumi Miyaji on Wednesday.
“The letter details the regime’s war crimes since the [2021] coup, including airstrikes on civilians, and it urges Japan to reject the military’s sham elections and calls for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” Saw Ba Hla Thein, the National Unity Government (NUG) representative in Japan, told DVB.
The association was established following Myanmar’s military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 and is composed of 61 members from Japan’s National Diet, a bicameral legislature composed of the lower House of Representatives and the upper House of Councillors.
Vice Minister Miyaji said Japan remained “deeply concerned about the dire situation in Myanmar,” pledging to continue humanitarian assistance for civilians and coordinate with international partners “to swiftly restore a democratic political system.”
The 15-point appeal urged Tokyo to reject the regime elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28, and to demand the release of jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held incommunicado by the regime in Naypyidaw since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
The NUG expressed its “deep gratitude” to the Japanese Parliamentary Association for Supporting Myanmar’s Democratization for the opportunity to present its findings on the crisis in Myanmar since the 2021 coup.
On Sept. 1, Japan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement declaring it would not accept the results of any regime elections, and it called for an immediate end to violence and for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.
