Civil society groups held a protest outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Tuesday to mark the four-month anniversary of the Tatmadaw’s attempted coup in Myanmar.
Protesters delivered speeches and chanted “Act now!” and “Stop ODA!”
The ODA is the Office of Development Assistance under Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They also presented a petition to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, government ministers, and heads of Japanese development agencies.
The petition, signed by 42 civil society organisations, criticised the lack of Japanese policy clarity in relation to the Myanmar junta and demanded the country “immediately sever the connection between military businesses and economic cooperation from Japan.”
Yuka Kiguchi, director of Japanese civil society organisation Mekong Watch, told Myanmar Now that aid and development must be scrutinised since Japan remains one of Myanmar’s biggest donors.
“The Japanese government should make clear its position regarding the Tatmadaw. If the Japanese government continues overseas development assistance, we are concerned some of the projects will support military business and create an unjustified debt for future generations in Myanmar,” Yuka said.
Japanese development assistance has come under fire for supporting projects that benefit the Tatmadaw.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation (JOIN) are part of the Y Complex real estate development, currently under construction on land leased from the office of the quartermaster general of the army.
JOIN also invests in two terminal projects in Thilawa port, through agreements with Myanma Port Authority, and the Yankin Urban Development Project, on land leased from the Ministry of Construction, entities now under control of the junta.
