Japan considers halting new assistance projects in Myanmar amid military coup

The Japenese government is considering halting new assistance projects to Myanmar, where a military coup has taken place. On February 25, the Japanese media outlet, Kyodo, reported that despite condemning the coup, Japan, as a major donor to Myanmar, plans to continue emergency assistance offered through international organisations and NGOs in such areas as combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is worth noting that earlier this month, Japan had joined the Group of Seven advanced economies in condemning the coup and calling for the restoration of the civilian government in Myanmar. Tokyo had even called for the release of Myanmar’s state counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other officials who were placed under house arrest. 

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Myanmar military coup

The Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 and declared a year-long state of emergency hours before the newly-elected parliament was about to convene. The military accused Suu Kyi's government of rigging the November elections. Aung San Suu Kyi's party National League for Democracy (NLD) managed to win 396 of the 476 parliamentary seats of the ones that are not reserved for the military.  

On Sunday, large numbers of people stormed the streets to protest against the February 1 military coup. According to reports, two protestors were killed on Saturday after security forces opened fire on them. The killing of protestors did not stop people from coming out on the streets. Anti-coup protestors in Myanmar's two largest cities also paid tribute to a young woman who died a day earlier after being shot by police in a rally. 

(With inputs from ANI) 

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