A former diplomat dismissed by Myanmar's military junta for his opposition to last year's coup has criticized Japan for inviting the head of the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state funeral.
Aung Soe Moe said that if Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government allows Soe Han, Myanmar's Ambassador to Japan, to attend Tuesday's funeral alongside other foreign representatives such as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it would be a de-facto recognition of the junta and the Feb. 1, 2021 putsch.
"We, Myanmar residents in Japan, have asked the Japanese Foreign Ministry not to invite anyone from the military to Mr. Abe's state funeral, a major international event," Aung Soe Moe, 53, told reporters Saturday in Tokyo.