A delegation of Japanese election monitors arrived in Yangon on Friday afternoon, ahead of Myanmar's general election on Sunday.
The group, led by Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the philanthropic Nippon Foundation, will visit facilities including polling stations in the city on Saturday and Sunday, before returning to Japan on Monday.
Speaking to reporters at Yangon's airport, Sasakawa said: "In this election we will monitor the process very carefully . . . and see that the election is being conducted fairly."
"This time the election committee is very open to international bodies and our team has been accepted by the committee very smoothly," he added.
Numerous nations have sent monitors to Myanmar ahead of the polls, with a 150-strong mission from the European Union set to visit military polling stations as well as regular ones.
The vote on Sunday is set to be Myanmar's first fully democratic general election in decades. Pundits are predicting Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will win.