Despite the fate of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi remaining uncertain after she was detained during a coup earlier this year, craftsmen in Japan have continued painstaking work to restore a Japanese sword belonging to her in hope it can one day be returned.
Before Suu Kyi was taken into custody during the February coup, she approached Japan's ambassador to Myanmar, Ichiro Maruyama, about repairing the katana-style sword. Maruyama asked Nippon Foundation executive director Yuji Mori, who is knowledgeable about swords, to help get it fixed.
After Suu Kyi learned about Mori, she asked if he would be willing to help get it repaired, and the sword was later restored in a workshop in the city of Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture.