The Japanese government and public alike must be more proactive in condemning human rights abuses by the military government in Myanmar, a Japanese filmmaker told a news conference following his release from prison in the country.
Toru Kubota, 26, was arrested in the city of Yangon on July 30 for filming a small demonstration against the junta, which has been in power since early 2021 following a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Japan has a huge presence in Myanmar, including an extremely impactful economic relationship with the country, and I would hope that in future there will be greater scrutiny of where that money is going and if any of it is being used to harm the country’s people,” he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.