February 13, 2020

Japan’s Defense Ministry, since Myanmar’s coup in February 2021, accepted four Myanmar military officers into the Japanese education and military training course. The ministry admitted to this fact in response to an Akahata inquiry.

According to the Defense Ministry, after February 2021, four military officers and cadets came from Myanmar, and currently, ten Myanmar military personnel are taking part in the program.

The Defense Ministry accepts foreign military personnel from Myanmar and other countries, such as Singapore, Thailand, and Philippines, on consignment - providing education and military training under Article 100 of the Self-Defense Forces Act. The foreign military trainees learn Japanese for one year and then attend the four-year program for academic study and military training.

The SDF law stipulates that foreign military personnel from developing countries are eligible for the government grant program. As those from Myanmar are covered by this program, the four military officers received a total of 3.55 million yen in state grants.

The Defense Ministry explained that the admission of Myanmar military personnel to the education and military training program will help establish personal relations between SDF members and Myanmar officers and promote mutual understanding.

The international NGO Human Rights Watch criticized the acceptance of military personnel from Myanmar for increasing the risk that Japan may be playing a part in the Myanmar military’s brutality. The human rights NGO pointed out that such an act goes against Japan’s condemnation against the military coup and undermines the international community’s efforts to charge the Myanmar military’s leadership with crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses. The organization demanded that the ministry stop accepting military personnel from Myanmar.

Past related article:
> Japan's Lower House condemns military coup in Myanmar [June 9, 10 & 12, 2021]