Thousands protest Myanmar coup in Tokyo; demand Japan take tougher action

A top defense official told Reuters this week Japan needed to be cautious about its approach towards Myanmar because cutting ties risked pushing the country closer to China.

He's a bit mistaken. The military junta has already been in closer ties with Beijing. That's why they were able to overthrow the government without hesitation and despite possible international sanctions. The junta must have got a green light and promise of economic support.

No wonder China is now sabotaging a resolution at UNSC.

That hardly looks like "thousands"! The article makes it sound like they are all from Myanmar too!

So much for social distancing. And this is in Tokyo no less where the majority of cases take place.

I doubt the government can do anything after the US and EU can't seem to able to do anything. Is highly unlikely the government will take any drastic action considering a lot of Japan factories are in Myanmar.

A majority of all foreign investment in the country is Japanese. For decades, they've been quite happy to work with the various brutal dictatorships that have ruled the country.

Indeed. The site below lists in sad detail Japanese government and corporate investment in the general's Myanmar:

https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/japanese-investment-flowing-range-sectors

To be fair, European countries, especially the UK and France, and the US and Canada, are more than happy to do business with nasty regimes such as Saudi Arabia.

Protest is pointless.. Because Japan has got nothing to do with Myanmar or Myanmar's internal affairs..

As a matter of fact ,Japan doesn't meddle in any countries internal affairs..

if japan wants to meddle in, it does utilise u.s.a as a broker..

Addition to my previous post.

The military junta did contact with China right before the coup.

ミャンマー、狙い澄ましたクーデター　直前に中国と接触https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOGM033GG0T00C21A2000000/

Beijing is supporting the move.

Myanmar coup: China blocks UN condemnation as protest grows

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55913947

All things have been planned and coordinated. For China, Myanmar is the important corridor open to the Indian Ocean.

Notice how china is in the middle of EVERYTHING that's SCREWED UP in the world ?

In August 2018, a study[83] estimated that more than 24,000+ Rohingya people were killed by the Myanmar military and the local Buddhists since the "clearance operations" started on 25 August 2017. The study[83] also estimated that more than 18,000 Rohingya Muslim women and girls were raped, 116,000 Rohingya were beaten, 36,000 Rohingya were thrown into fire,[83][84][85][86][87][88] burned down and destroyed 354 Rohingya villages in Rakhine state,[89] looted many Rohingya houses,[90] committed widespread gang rapes and other forms of sexual violence against the Rohingya Muslim women and girls.[91][92][93] The military drive also displaced a large number of Rohingya people and made them refugees. According to the United Nations reports, as of January 2018, nearly 690,000 Rohingya people had fled or had been driven out of Rakhine state who then took shelter in the neighboring Bangladesh as refugees.[94] In December, two Reuters journalists who had been covering the Inn Din massacre event were arrested and imprisoned.[94]

source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Muslims_in_Myanmar

hardly seen any protest against that persecutions and human rights violations when extremist Buddhists started a major crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims in the country's western region of Rakhine State.

I cannot speak for Japanese people but I CAN speak for American people and we have heard for a very long time, over and over and over again, "foreign interference in our elections [read: Internal Affairs] cannot be tolerated". We blanche, then turn colors, rage red among them, as we pontificate on the sanctity of America's internal affairs NEVER to be sullied by FOREIGN interference. Yet, we feel free to order them about like our toys. Leave these poor people alone. We have stirred ourselves into their politics in the past and all we have done is make it harder for them to find peace among themselves. Unless we have personally studied in depth both Myranmar and Aung's performance as President, we can have NO opinion regarding the wisdom or evil of this (probably slight) shift in the dominant names in the country's publicly known power hierarchy. And when you put pressure on a power hierarchy as paranoid as a military power structure is, they reflexively double down on whatever policies they have chosen. And when America (ANY party) starts protesting military dictatorships, ya know there is something seriously wrong with the picture and maybe it's time to take a breath...

Japan, a one-party state with a heavily censored media is going to teach Burma a thing or two about democracy.

Notice how china is in the middle of EVERYTHING that's SCREWED UP in the world ?

Once again, China copying all the things the USA used to be the leader at.

Next we'll be getting moral posturing from the UK, the country which colonized and exploited Burma/Myanmar for over a 100 years.

He's a bit mistaken. The military junta has already been in closer ties with Beijing. That's why they were able to overthrow the government without hesitation and despite possible international sanctions. The junta must have got a green light and promise of economic support.

The Burmese do not like the Chinese very much. In fact a great many were relieved by the 2015 democratization and opening to the west as it began to reduce their need to genuflect to Beijing to survive. I would also be surprised if the Chinese knew this was going to happen. The Myanmar military has been fighting up to five separate secession movements since its independence from Britain. The last two years the civilian government has been under intense international pressure over the Rohingya genocide and internally from militant Buddhists intent on driving national policy. The military appeared to view the response from the elected government as inadequate or there were internal disputes between elected leaders and the military on the matter. When the same civilians won the election again the military decided to intervene under a pretext of election fraud. It really is more of an internal dispute but the Japanese military leadership is indeed correct that this will drive the Myanmar military back into dependence on the Chinese. It isn't because they like the Chinese either. The don't. They have no alternative.

The world bent over backwards in the struggle to free Sing Sun Suu Kyi in her days of tribulations. We even got her a nobel peace prize.

Then they came for the Rohingyas...She did nothing and said nothing because " they were from Bangladesh and Muslims ".

Today they've come for her......and SHE wants us to speak and do something for her !!

Maybe she should first fry a bit in her own oil.

It's Aung not Sing (Sun Suu Kyi)

For China, Myanmar is the important corridor open to the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, Japan is busy building a highway linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in order to provide transport infrastructure to all the Japanese corporations that have left Japan to set up offshore in Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Thousands of Burmese in Japan?

Anyway, Tokyo would not be doing anything about Myanmar military regime unless requested by US..

Check their visas. If not valid, they can go back and demonstrate there. Japan doesn’t want this, we have too many investments. Investments that can just as easily be transferred to the military government. Japanese business in Burma is creating jobs and infrastructure.

only been there twice, but compared to 25 years ago, life has improved. Except if you a rohpongi.

Japan is not going to take a tougher line, it is going to take a wait-and-see attitude, same as always...

At this particular moment that might be the best course of action for Japan.

Japan has too many economical interests in Myanmar. If condemnation, it will be as usual mostly from western countries

Courtesy of Beijing, if you let your nation be owned then it is

Is this protest ( held in Tokyo ) going to achieve anything positive to change the military coup status ( in Myanmar)? I don’t think so. The only thing it will achieve is more corona virus infections!

The whole world, whenever this happens in any country, should switch that country off business wise..

Lots of jobs have been created in the pvt sector in the last 5 yrs..If the businesses are switched off..all these will go away..for the businesses a wait and watch approach is required..as for the military..it's a fair game..

Aung San Suu Kyi has become a dubious public figure. She is also a puppet stringed back to Beijing. I support her release, but wouldn't like her to return to politics. Myanmar's democratic camp needs a fresh and capable leader.

It’s not even starting, but continuously rising, like in other countries... Not only about Myanmar, there were also street conflicts between Turks and Kurds some years ago, even with violence. They all bring just their damned stupid 3rd world and homemade conflicts here to Japan and take them on Japanese streets for their selfish interests , and they are not even affected here, having job, money peace, and much more. They even don’t care at all about corona spreading and I bet they also don’t pay the police officers and other personnel like street cleaners, cleaning and recycling of the garbage cans full of demonstration papers , posters and such. It’s becoming so terrible and crazy everywhere, unbelievable...

Bruce ChatwinToday  08:32 am JST

A majority of all foreign investment in the country is Japanese. For decades, they've been quite happy to work with the various brutal dictatorships that have ruled the country.

Indeed. The site below lists in sad detail Japanese government and corporate investment in the general's Myanmar:

Like Midnight Oil said in 1990, 'We feed an economy with blood on its hands. In the mountains of Burma...

noriahojanenToday  01:06 pm JST

Aung San Suu Kyi has become a dubious public figure. She is also a puppet stringed back to Beijing. I support her release, but wouldn't like her to return to politics. Myanmar's democratic camp needs a fresh and capable leader.

She had her chance and she blew it.

Cogito Ergo SumToday  11:23 am JST

The world bent over backwards in the struggle to free Sing Sun Suu Kyi in her days of tribulations. We even got her a nobel peace prize.

Then they came for the Rohingyas...She did nothing and said nothing because " they were from Bangladesh and Muslims ".

Today they've come for her......and SHE wants us to speak and do something for her !!

Maybe she should first fry a bit in her own oil.

Tough tudballs. She sold out to the junta thugs and vehemiently lied and denied about the Rohignya genocide. It's medicine dosage time for her. This is what she gets as she continually persues her policy of truth, which was disenfranchise Rohignya due to their mixed ethnicity, commit crimes of apartheid and 'ethnic cleansing' against them and keep it all out of sight. The Myanmar soldiers have been plucking off the Rohignya like ducks as they were fleeing across the river to Bangladesh. And don't say ASSK didn't know about this. She ain't innocent in any way or manner.

It means nothing as Japan still invests in Myanmar.

Those protesters should leave and protest in their own country if they want to change anything.

Involving your hosting country in political/military affairs is not what your visa is meant for.

In France, we suffer this issue every time. It does not benefit anyone.

A big slap to Japan as it's the biggest helper to Myanmar.

This country is not worth it, they can go to Chinaas arms

Look at a map. Do you see Myanmar?

Their location for China is priceless! Having Myanmar gives them access to the Indian Ocean bypassing the choke hold in South China Sea.

Joe stalin

Because mother Russia controlled by One Man for over 20 yrs and in power for another 20 yrs while poisoning it's people and competition should Never Talk about other countries governments.

@ReasonAndWisdomNippon. I agree on your remarks about the geopolitical and maybe even military advantages that China could now get a grip on. It’s really like goldmine... Rival India in checkmate position, all the South China Sea ‘problem makers’ in the pincers, a shorter seaside Silk Road and so on. It’s just like a new year’s present on the silver tablet.

What do they expect Japan to do about it? A strongly worded letter from a pacifist nation? If they want military action nothing beats the United States, if the price is right.

Septim DynastyFeb. 4  03:27 pm JST

It means nothing as Japan still invests in Myanmar.

Myanmar may have the worst human rights record in the world. And other nations, even the UN can impose sanctions on Myanmar to stop this abusive crap and genocide. Sanctions worked over time on apartheid south Africa, terrorist Libya, aggressor Russia (until Trump became a Russian satellite) and others. Even a blockade (like what JFK did on Cuba) can give results. We can stop this without a fight.

Next we'll be getting moral posturing from the UK, the country which colonized and exploited Burma/Myanmar for over a 100 years.

Comments like this are born out of jealousy, because your ancestors were weak and of low intellect and evolutionary standing and so we're taken advantage of by more powerful, more advanced and more intellectual people. Cry me a river mate.