An historic meeting June 29 between parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon highlights Japan's increasing willingness to look beyond its self-interest and promote democracy in the region.
Kikuta is the first high-level Japanese envoy to meet with Suu Kyi since 2002, and although the meeting only lasted an hour, it carried added symbolic weight as it was followed by Suu Kyi's announcement that she will defy the generals and go on a controversial tour of the country.
Earlier in the week, Kikuta visited the capital Naypyidaw, where talks were held with regime leaders, including Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin.