More than three and a half years have passed since the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, launched a coup to seize control of the country, yet the Japanese government continues to extend Official Development Assistance (ODA) and public funds that ultimately benefit the military junta, despite the immense sacrifices made by the Myanmar people to bring an end to the military’s decades-long grip on power and restore democracy.
Since the 2021 coup, Japan’s response has been marked by a lack of decisive action, with the government merely expressing “grave concerns” and calling for the release of detained leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, while Western countries have imposed sanctions on the military regime; however, Japan has taken a more lenient approach, refraining from imposing any significant punitive measures, even as the military’s atrocities continue to escalate.
Similar to other countries, Japan supports international development through a combination of grants, loans, and technical assistance; however, Japan differs from its peers in its preference for providing aid primarily in the form of bilateral loans, which account for a significantly larger proportion of its development assistance compared to other donor countries that tend to favour grants; within the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Japan stands out as the largest provider of ODA loans, having provided 71% of its bilateral aid in the form of loans between 1970 and 2020, far surpassing the 22% provided by other DAC members and even exceeding the 52% provided by multilateral organisations.
Japan’s role as a major donor to Myanmar serves as a testament to its aid strategy, with the country having loaned a substantial amount of aid to Myanmar over the past decade, far exceeding the contributions of any other nation; in 2022, only Japan and Korea continued to disburse ODA aid loans to Myanmar, with Korea’s contributions amounting to a mere 10% of Japan’s total, and by 2020, Japan had lent a cumulative total of US$2.7 billion to Myanmar.
Although no new ODA contracts have been signed since the coup, the completion of ongoing projects will result in Myanmar’s debt to Japan increasing by an additional $5.12 billion, a staggering figure that will likely burden the country for years to come.
Some of the projects funded by Japan’s substantial loan aid have been linked to businesses owned by the Myanmar military, including the Bago Bridge project, for which the Yokogawa Bridge Corporation paid the Myanmar Economic Corporation, a conglomerate controlled by the military; a 2019 UN fact-finding mission in Myanmar revealed that revenues from military-controlled businesses are used to fund the military’s atrocities, raising concerns about the potential misuse of Japanese aid.
The Thilawa Special Economic Zone, backed by Japanese ODA, also risks entangling Japanese funds with the military, as the chairperson of the zone’s Management Committee was replaced by the military shortly after the coup, sparking fears that Japanese aid may be indirectly supporting the regime’s brutal activities.
Other publicly-funded projects, such as the Y Complex Project, have been linked to ventures that allow funds to flow to the Office of the Quartermaster General, which has been sanctioned by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada for its role in procuring arms and equipment for the military, further underscoring the need for greater scrutiny of Japan’s aid program.
Since the coup, the Myanmar military has committed atrocities on a staggering scale, killing over 5,400 people, burning villages to ashes, and perpetrating massacres, torture, and sexual violence, while intensifying airstrikes across the country, displacing over 3 million people, and forcing survivors to live in a state of constant fear.
The survivors of these atrocities will ultimately be burdened with the enormous debt incurred as a result of Japan’s loan aid, which could potentially be used to fund the perpetrators, a situation that raises serious questions about Japan’s priorities and values as a major aid donor.
Despite statements in 2021 suggesting a potential review of ODA if the situation in Myanmar deteriorated, the Japanese government has continued its aid program, seemingly prioritising concerns over potential losses for Japanese companies involved in projects funded by ODA, rather than taking a firmer stance on human rights.
During a hearing of the Committee on Audit on May 20, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa revealed the government’s thinking, stating, “If existing ODA is suspended and Japanese companies unilaterally terminate business contracts they have with counterpart institutions in the recipient countries, these companies may face demands for substantial penalties or could be subject to legal action. Therefore, a cautious approach is considered necessary,” a stance that raises concerns about Japan’s commitment to promoting human rights and democracy in Myanmar.
Instead of challenging the military’s actions and taking a firm stand on human rights, Japan appears more concerned with protecting the interests of Japanese companies involved in these projects, a position that has been widely criticized by civil society organizations and human rights groups.
Despite Japan’s lacklustre response to the crisis, many believe that the country still has the potential to influence change in Myanmar, and a petition with over 11,500 signatures has urged Japan to halt any aid that benefits the Myanmar military, while a former Myanmar police officer now in Japan has called for a stronger stance from Japan, echoing sentiments expressed by many civil society organizations.
The Spring Revolution, sparked by the military’s 2021 attempt to seize power, represents a historic, multi-faceted movement aimed at dismantling the military and building a federal democracy in Myanmar, and Japan’s loan aid risks undermining these goals; as Japan marks 70 years of ODA, it is time for the country to re-examine its aid strategy and end ODA loans and public funds that support the Myanmar military, in favour of a more principled approach that prioritises human rights and democracy.
