April 28, 2023

The Foreign Ministry on April 26 announced that Japan lodged a protest against the Myanmar government as Myanmar admitted that it used passenger ships provided by Japan through ODA for the transportation of soldiers and weapons.

This announcement came two weeks after Diet questioning by Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Yamazoe Taku.

Yamazoe at a House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on April 13 grilled the government about its slow action to respond to a media report in September 2022 that Myanmar allegedly used two passenger ships, which were offered as Japan’s ODA between 2017 and 2019, to transport military personnel.

The Japanese government as a basic principle limits the provision of ODA to non-military fields. However, international human rights NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch, have been pointing out that the military-ruled Myanmar is using Japan’s ODA for military purposes.

Human Rights Watch program officer Kasai Teppei noted that the Foreign Ministry in its announcement stated that it urged the Myanmar government to use Japan’s ODA as intended and take measures to prevent a recurrence. He said that judging by the fact that the Myanmar military government engages in human rights abuses and refuses to abide by international law, it is hard to believe that this government accepts Japan’s request to not use ODA for military purposes. He said that Japan should suspend all ODA projects other than humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.

Past related articles:
> JCP Yamazoe calls for abolition of new program enabling provision of military aid to ‘like-minded countries’ [April 14, 2023]
> Japan's ODA serves as financial resource for repression against Burmese citizens [February 2, 2022]