Japan urged Myanmar's junta Friday to free people detained since the Feb. 1 coup and restore democracy, during a meeting with the foreign ministers of five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River attended by Myanmar's military-appointed representative.
Conveying concerns about the Myanmar military's nullification of the country's November general election, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi called for a dialogue among all parties concerned and "expressed his strong expectations for a constructive response from Myanmar," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
On Wednesday, the ASEAN foreign ministers agreed to appoint Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as a special envoy to Myanmar to help resolve the political crisis in the country, though it is yet to be decided when he will make his trip.
In the one-hour videoconference, Motegi reiterated Japan's support for ASEAN's initiative to implement a five-point consensus on how to deal with the crisis including an immediate end to violence, according to the ministry.
On other regional issues, the Japanese foreign minister pledged additional medical support for the region on top of around 5.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and $68 million worth of medical equipment including oxygen concentrators, the ministry said.
"As we face the predicament stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, I would like to reaffirm the importance of the relationship between Japan and the Mekong nations, which is based on strong friendship and deep trust," Motegi said at the beginning of the meeting.
The Japan-Mekong meeting, involving Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, was pushed back from earlier this year because Tokyo feared holding it would be seen as recognizing Myanmar's military government that ousted the country's democratically elected government.
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