Japan envoy Yohei Sasakawa meets Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, state media says
Myanmar state media said the two discussed possible help for the country’s peace process. Japan’s foreign ministry had not immediately commented on the visit.
Japanese special envoy Yohei Sasakawa met Myanmar’s president, Min Aung Hlaing, in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, 20 October, according to Myanmar state media, Reuters reported. The reported discussion matters because it concerned possible help for the country’s peace process amid continuing conflict.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said the two discussed plans for Sasakawa to assist Myanmar’s internal peace process and for the Nippon Foundation to support the development of the country’s human resources, according to Reuters. The account did not establish a specific agreement, funding commitment or timetable.
Sasakawa is the Nippon Foundation’s honorary chair and Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar. Japan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on his visit, leaving the ministry’s position on the reported meeting unclear.
Sasakawa’s earlier role in Myanmar peace talks
Sasakawa has long been involved in mediation between Myanmar’s military and armed groups opposing it, Reuters reported. Citing the Nippon Foundation, Reuters said he helped broker a 2022 truce between the military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine state. That ceasefire later collapsed and fighting resumed.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup led by Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected civilian government in 2021. The ensuing civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced over 3.5 million, according to Reuters. That history gives the reported discussion of peace assistance its significance.
Min Aung Hlaing’s renewed diplomatic contacts
The Guardian reported that Min Aung Hlaing became civilian president in April after elections widely condemned as a sham. It said he had since made regional visits aimed at rebuilding bilateral ties, including a visit to Malaysia this month where he received an official welcome and honour guard.
Those contacts come despite continued diplomatic restrictions. The Guardian reported that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had barred Min Aung Hlaing from its summits because he had not followed an ASEAN-brokered peace plan. He remains under US sanctions for human rights abuses, including the mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017.
Reuters also reported recent contacts involving Japan and the United States: US and Myanmar officials held talks in Tokyo this month, while Japan’s acting envoy met Myanmar’s foreign minister in October. A Japanese ruling party lawmaker had visited Naypyitaw in September. Neither those contacts nor the Guardian’s account independently confirms Sasakawa’s reported meeting.
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Sources and context
- Japan envoy Sasakawa meets Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing, state media saysThe Straits Times (Reuters)
- Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi seen in rare photos after receiving gift from King CharlesThe Guardian (with Reuters and Associated Press contributions)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.