Myanmar's ex-diplomat urges Japan to restrict junta's envoy from Abe's funeral

Tokyo [Japan], September 26 : Myanmar's former diplomat Aung Soe Moe, who was dismissed by the military junta for his opposition to last year's coup, urged Tokyo to not invite Naypyidaw's embassy in Japan to former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe's funeral.
Aung Soe Moe said that inviting Myanmar's ambassador to Abe's funeral would be a de-facto recognition of the junta, The Japan Times reported.
"We, Myanmar residents in Japan, have asked the Japanese Foreign Ministry not to invite anyone from the military to Abe's state funeral, a major international event," Aung Soe Moe, 53, told reporters Saturday in Tokyo.
"What generals want is official recognition of their regime by the international community and to make the takeover of government a fait accompli," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Giving the example of Britain's decision to not allow Myanmar delegates to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, Aung Soe Moe said that the Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister should take a similarly firm and clear-cut stance against the junta led by the coup leader and army chief Min Aung Hlaing.
"Japan did not invite Min Aung Hlaing, but it would not make much difference if the Kishida government allows the junta-appointed ambassador to attend this state-level event," he said.
Since Aung Soe Moe was sacked from Myanmar's Foreign Ministry for joining the civil disobedience movement against military rule, the former first secretary of the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo has devoted himself to activities in Japan to bring democracy back to his homeland, reported the Japan Times.
Aung Soe Moe said he and other pro-democracy advocates do not understand why Kishida has invited a representative of a violent regime that has cracked down on opposition among its people, including targeting women and children, to the funeral of a former leader who was also a victim of violence.
The state funeral of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech, will take place on September 27 and is expected to see thousands of attendees.
Abe was shot on July 8 in the Japanese city of Nara. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet).
The attacker reportedly plotted the assassination of the 67-year-old former head of government for nearly a year.
Abe sustained two gunshot wounds to the front of his neck and the bullet that killed him damaged his heart and a major artery, causing blood loss, Hidetada Fukushima, the head of emergency services at Nara Medical University Hospital said.
Doctors attempted a blood transfusion after they were unable to stop the bleeding, Dr Fukushima said. Shinzo Abe arrived at a hospital without any vital signs after being shot during a campaign speech in western Japan.
Abe, Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister, stepped down in 2020 citing health reasons. He was Prime Minister of Japan twice, from 2006-07 and again from 2012-20. He was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga and later by Fumio Kishida.