On March 21, during a session of the Japanese Diet on foreign affairs, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed “serious concern” about the Myanmar military junta’s plans to hold national elections by January 2026. Myanmar junta leader Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing publicly announced the timeframe for the elections earlier this month during a visit to Belarus.
In response to a question from an opposition lawmaker, Iwaya said that, “The Japanese government is seriously concerned that holding national elections while there has been no political progress, such as the release of those detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and dialogue to break through the current situation, will only invite more resistance from the Myanmar people and make a peaceful resolution difficult.”
Since the February 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta has committed widespread and systematic human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The junta has also arbitrarily detained opposition politicians while dissolving and criminalizing their political parties, creating a climate of fear that makes free and fair elections impossible. Military abuses are also rampant in areas contested by ethnic armed groups and anti-junta forces.
Much of the country is not under junta control, which raises further concerns about elections being credible. Last October, the junta conducted a nationwide census, allegedly to compile voter lists, which instead appeared to be a counterinsurgency tool designed to root out opposition activists and conscript military recruits. Junta officials later announced they had managed to successfully conduct the census in only 145 out of 330 townships – less than half of the country.
Japan is not alone in opposing the junta’s plans. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan recently told reporters, “We told them [Myanmar’s junta] that election is not a priority at the moment.” United Nations human rights experts urged UN member countries to call the proposed elections a “fraud.”
The Japanese government’s expression of concern over the junta’s plans is a good start, but it should do more. Japan should persuade other governments, including Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, South Korea, and India, to publicly rebuke the junta’s election plans and not provide technical support for a process that simply cannot be credible, free or fair.
