The government has urged Myanmar to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and conduct its general election in an open, free and fair manner, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Friday.
The minister told a news conference that the government conveyed Thursday its concern over the Nov. 7 poll, the country's first so-called free election in two decades, through Myanmar's ambassador to Japan.
"If Myanmar holds the general election without releasing political prisoners, including Ms. Suu Kyi, it would not be a free, fair and open election that the international community has called for and thus would be regrettable," Okada said.
He called on the junta to swiftly hold a substantive dialogue with Suu Kyi and conduct the general election by including all the parties involved.