Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to kick off a five-day visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, her first trip to Japan since the National League for Democracy took power by landslide in the election last November.
The visit will provide ample opportunity for Tokyo to improve its ties with Suu Kyi, who serves concurrently as Myanmar's state counselor and foreign minister, experts said. In the past, she had slammed Tokyo for providing economic assistance to the country, which was at the time ruled by the military.
"Suu Kyi may have had some uncomfortable feelings toward Japan in the past, but now the environment is ready for Japan and Myanmar to join hands to seek practical benefits," said Toshihiro Kudo, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo and a noted expert on Myanmar affairs.