In defiance of mounting international pressure, Japan appears firmly determined to go ahead with technical assistance for Myanmar.
A fledgling joint panel of Japanese and Myanmar government officials and private-sector experts will meet in Tokyo as early as next week to discuss ways to resolve structural problems that have hobbled the impoverished Southeast Asian country's economic development, informed sources said Thursday.
It will be the second time for the joint economic panel to meet; the panel was inaugurated earlier this year and held its first meeting in Yangon in June.