Japan's lower house adopts resolution condemning military coup in Myanmar
Jun 09, 2021
Tokyo [Japan], June 9 : Japan's lower house has adopted a resolution condemning the February 1 military coup in Myanmar and urged the country to return to democratic rule.
According to Kyodo News, the move reflects Japan's intention to show its opposition to the Myanmar military ahead of a three-day summit meeting of the G7 nations slated to begin on Friday in the United Kingdom.
Japan has also put new official development assistance for Myanmar on hold in response to the coup.
The resolution, adopted in a House of Representatives plenary session on Tuesday, described the military coup as an "act to trample on efforts and expectations for democratization". It also called on the Japanese government to make full use of all diplomatic resources and every effort to realise the restoration of democracy in Myanmar.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Myanmar and peaceful protesters, the house said that the military junta in the Southeast Asian country cannot be 'justified at all'.
It all also demanded an immediate halt of the junta's violence against civilians and the early release of political detainees including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, reported Kyodo News.
Meanwhile, a similar resolution is likely to be adopted on Friday during a plenary session of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan's Parliament.
Kyodo News reported that the Yoshihide Suga-led government's spokesperson had said that Tokyo would have no choice but to review its existing development aid toward Myanmar and that investment by Japanese firms could suffer due to the existing situation, while condemning the subsequent crackdown on protests.
"We will decide our economic cooperation going forward based on how Myanmar addresses these issues," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference.
As of Tuesday, as many as 857 people have been killed as the military government has violent cracked down on peaceful anti-coup protests, while 4,704 are currently under detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The coup triggered mass protests and was met by deadly violence.
