A group of students in Japan has asked the country's government and lawmakers to support citizens of Myanmar protesting last month's military coup there.
The group on Thursday handed in a petition signed by some 38,300 people to the Foreign Ministry and a cross-party parliamentarians' league supporting Myanmar's democracy movements.
The students study the Burmese language at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and gathered the signatures online.
The petition asks Japan's government and Diet members to urge Myanmar's military authorities to immediately stop violent crackdowns on citizens joining peaceful protests against the coup.
It also asks the Japanese officials to call on Myanmar's military to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders.
The director of the Foreign Ministry's First Southeast Asia Division, Yamada Yoshiyuki, said he deeply grieves the deaths of protesters in Myanmar. Yamada pledged diplomatic efforts to help visibly improve the situation there soon.
The head of the parliamentarians' league, Nakagawa Masaharu, thanked the students for their campaign. He said the league will think over what can be done to help the cause.
The students asked Nakagawa to take firm action so that the wishes of those who signed the petition will help improve the situation.
