A senior member of Myanmar's shadow civilian leadership, the National Unity Government (NUG), on Tuesday urged Japan to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Myanmar's military in coordination with ASEAN in a bid to end the junta's brutal rule.
Zin Mar Aung, the NUG's foreign minister, made the call in a meeting with Japanese lawmakers in Tokyo as an unprecedented offensive by ethnic minority groups in northeastern Myanmar in late October and ensuing attacks by insurgents in other border areas have posed the biggest challenge to the junta since it seized power in a 2021 coup.
"Without dealing with the State Administration Council, Japan should establish diplomatic relations with the NUG, which represents the people of Myanmar," Zin Mar Aung said through an interpreter, in reference to the official name of the junta led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.