A lawmaker from Japan’s ruling party met with Myanmar’s junta leader days after a Japanese documentary maker was arrested while covering a protest in the Southeast Asian country, according to Myanmar state media.Hiromichi Watanabe, a member of Japan’s more powerful lower house of representatives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was in Myanmar from August 7 to August 12, his office confirmed on Friday. There was no comment on the purpose of the trip.
Tokyo has called for the release of filmmaker Toru Kubota, 26, who entered Myanmar on a tourist visa and was arrested on July 30 at a protest in Yangon. He faces charges of violating immigration law and supporting dissent against the ruling military. Myanmar has been locked in a spiral of violence since the military overthrew an elected government last year. Mass protests and armed resistance against the junta have been simmering across the country, and the military has faced them with deadly force.
A Japanese freelance journalist was released in Myanmar last year after initially being arrested and accused of spreading fake news while covering anti-coup protests. The junta said his release was a recognition of the two countries’ close ties. Myanmar state media reported that Watanabe met top junta general Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw this week to discuss bilateral relations.
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