Yohei Sasakawa, honorary chairman of Japan’s Nippon Foundation, met putschist president Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Monday, pledging once again to assist Myanmar’s “internal peace process.”
Sasakawa made a similar promise during his last visit in August. This time, regime media said only that he offered to help strengthen Myanmar’s “human resources,” without elaborating on what that would entail. No details were released on what progress had been made since his earlier pledge to support peace efforts.
Sasakawa’s latest visit comes amid fierce fighting in Rakhine, where the regime is struggling to defend the state capital, Sittwe, from the ethnic Arakan Army (AA)’s attacks. Sasakawa previously mediated a ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the AA in 2021, though fighting resumed in late 2023 after Operation 1027. The regime has since lost 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine.
The regime claims to be open to peace talks with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), but has excluded the AA from talks so far. It has demanded that the People’s Defense Force, the armed wing of the civilian National Unity Government, surrender.
Sasakawa’s latest meeting follows the regime’s self-styled “peace talks” with several EAOs that were not actively fighting the regime, having maintained earlier ceasefire deals with the Myanmar military even after the 2021 coup—an event that led other EAOs to resume fighting.
Separately, two EAOs that had been fighting the regime—the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army—agreed to ceasefires with the regime under direct pressure from China.
The regime insists that EAOs, after signing ceasefires, must transform themselves into Border Guard Forces under the Myanmar military’s command or disarm.
The Nippon Foundation on Wednesday declined to comment on the details of Sasakawa’s latest meeting with Min Aung Hlaing. The organization believes the most useful contribution it can make in Myanmar is through “quiet, practical engagement rather than public commentary,” its executive director, Takashi Arikawa, told The Irrawaddy.
“It is not helpful to discuss the substance of ongoing efforts before there are results that can be shared publicly,” he said.
Political analyst Htin Kyaw Aye noted that multiple countries and organizations are currently exploring ways to address Myanmar’s crisis, including attempts to open dialogue between the regime and resistance forces.
“Japan and Sasakawa may be among those countries and organizations. But they haven’t released details about their plans, so it is hard to gauge what measures they will take and what impacts they could have,” he said.
In recent weeks, Japanese lawmakers Hiromichi Watanabe and Shunsuke Takei visited Naypyitaw and met with Lower House Speaker Khin Yi. Meanwhile, Tokyo hosted meetings between U.S. officials and Myanmar regime representatives this month, leading to speculation that Tokyo is considering a shift in its policy toward engagement.
Japan suspended official development assistance to Myanmar after the 2021 coup. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated in July that relations would only improve if the junta halts violence, releases detainees including jailed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and pursues genuine political dialogue.
Months ago, the regime publicly appealed for previously agreed aid to be restored.