Thousands protest Myanmar coup in Tokyo, demand Japan take tougher action

Wearing red and waving printed photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, a long line of protesters surrounded government buildings in Tokyo, where large political demonstrations are relatively rare. “Free, free Aung San Suu Kyi, free, free Myanmar,” the crowd chanted in unison while their representatives handed foreign ministry officials a statement that called on Japan to use all of its “political, diplomatic, and economic power” to restore the civilian government in Myanmar. Japan and Myanmar have long enjoyed close ties, with Tokyo a major aid donor. Japan’s largest companies have been particularly aggressive in expanding business there in recent years, seeing it as Southeast Asia’s last major frontier market. The Myanmar army seized power on Monday, cutting short an unsteady transition to democracy on the grounds of fraud in last November’s general election, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. Union of Myanmar Citizen Association, which organised the rally, said Japan should not recognise the newly-formed military regime. Nearly 3,000 people were taking part in the protest on Wednesday, the organisers said. Mathida, a 50-year-old who works in a restaurant in Tokyo, said she joined the protest to push Japanese officials to do more to restore democracy in Myanmar. “We want our leader and our mother Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed,” she said. “The military is not the government.” She declined to give her full name. When pressed at a Tuesday news conference if Japan supported or would emphasise the kind of stance that the United States had expressed, including the possibility of sanctions, the government’s top spokesman sidestepped a direct answer, repeating an earlier statement that Japan would keep in close contact with other nations and monitor the situation in Myanmar.

Source: ANNnewsCH