Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy, is now visiting Japan for the first time in almost 27 years at the invitation of the Japanese government.
For nine months in 1985-86 at Kyoto University, she did research on Myanmar's independence movement and her father, Gen. Aung San, who was instrumental in achieving Burma's independence from Britain. She is to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday evening, marking the first time that a Japanese prime minister holds a meeting with her.
While Myanmar was under the military rule and facing strong criticism from Western countries for its oppression of the democracy movement, Japan continued to have relations with the military regime. Ms. Suu Kyi criticized Japan for supporting the regime and expressed dissatisfaction with Japan's economic assistance to Myanmar on the grounds that it would only benefit the military government.