日本語  မြန်မာစကား

#NoMoreBusinessWithTheMyanmarJunta
The Japanese Government Must Stop Providing ODA and Public Funds Benefitting the Myanmar Military

The Myanmar military staged a coup on February 1, 2021 and overthrew an elected government. Since then, it has continued to commit serious human rights violations against protesting citizens that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The number of people killed by the military including democracy activists and civilians surpassed 4,000 in August 2023 and has continued to increase. According to an estimate by the United Nations, more than 2 million people have been displaced across Myanmar. Unless the violence by the military is stopped, victims and displaced people will only increase.
 
Many efforts are being made by citizens around the world in order to end this situation as soon as possible. We, organizations in Japan, launched the campaign #NoMoreBusinessWithTheMyanmarJunta and have been active for nearly three years since the coup. In the past, we organized two online petitions titled "Japan must stop funding the Myanmar military to stop atrocities!" and "Japan must responsibly disengage from the Yetagun gas project in Myanmar!" in which many people participated. 
 
However, the Japanese government still has not stopped providing public funds to Myanmar.
 
In addition to Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Other Official Flows (OOF), the Japanese government provides public funds as economic aid to developing countries and as support for Japanese companies conducting business overseas. ODA comprises "technical cooperation" and "grand aid" as well as "loan aid." Loan aid must be paid back to the Japanese government and includes "yen loan" which is lent to developing countries as well as "private sector investment finance." Other Official Flows (OOF) includes loans made by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), an agency under the Ministry of Finance, and investment in companies by Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), a government-funded infrastructure investment corporation.

Please see this page for details about these problem projects.
 
That the Japanese government is continuing to provide public funds even after the attempted coup entails various problems. The following are a few examples:

Some of the projects are linked to business operations that benefit the Myanmar military. It has been made clear by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar that in Myanmar, revenues from business operations conducted by companies owned or controlled by the military are a source of funds for the military, supporting their atrocities. The same can be said about revenues from real estate development such as the Y Complex project. Further, there is concern that Japanese ODA funds may come to be managed by the military through its control over domestic financial institutions.

It gives the appearance that the Japanese government is implicitly supporting the military junta. The problem is not only that the provision of an enormous amount of financial assistance has not stopped, but also that such assistance can be used for military propaganda. For example, the construction of Bago Bridge is an ODA project that involves a military-owned company. In December 2023, the military propaganda newspaper reported that junta leader Min Aung Hlaing participated in a ceremony for this bridge.

The large amount of yen loans will become an enormous debt over the next decades for the people of Myanmar who are suffering from tyranny and a stagnant economy. The people of Myanmar will be forced to repay the debt even though some of the funds are benefitting the military that is oppressing them.

In December 2023, together with NGOs around the world, we requested the Japanese government to stop ODA and publicly-funded projects benefiting the Myanmar military.
 
We encourage you to join us by signing this petition.

We will first submit this request with updated information and your signature on February 1, 2024, the third anniversary of the attempted coup. The second submission will be made around May 16 at which point 1200 days will have passed since the attempted coup. The final submission will be made to the Japanese government on August 8, 2024, on the anniversary of the 8888 democracy movement.

Sponsors of this campaign: ayus: 
Mekong Watch, FoE Japan, Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation, Japan International Volunteer Center, Network Against Japan Arms Trade

Notes:

About Official Development Assistance (ODA): 
By 2020, the Japanese government has provided JPY 356.518 billion in total in grant aid as well as JPY 109.94 billion in total in technical assistance to Myanmar, and promised JPY 1,378.47 billion in loan aid (figure based on loan agreements). A large part of ODA to Myanmar has been loan aid (yen loan) for infrastructure development. Loan aid projects totalling JPY 739.6 billion (figure based on loan agreements) are being implemented currently. This will become debt that the Myanmar people will need to repay Japan.

About Other Official Flows (OOF): 
Japanese companies have promoted the Redevelopment of the Defense Services Museum Project (commonly known as the Y Complex Project”) which involves building and operating a large-scale real estate complex at the army-owned site of the former military museum in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar. The land lease payments are made to the Office of the  Quartermaster General which appears to play a key role in procuring equipment for the Myanmar military. Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), a government-funded infrastructure investment corporation under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, invests in the project, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan’s public export credit agency, lends to the project.

Yen loan projects currently being implemented:
* Urgent Rehabilitation and Upgrade Project Phase 1
* Infrastructure Development Project in Thilawa Area Phases 1-3
* East-West Economic Corridor Highway Development Project (New Bago-Kyaikto Highway Section)
* Bago River Bridge Construction Project
* Irrigation Development Project in Western Bago Region
* Yangon-Mandalay Railway Improvement Project Phases 1-2
* Yangon Sewerage System Development Project
* Yangon Circular Railway Line Upgrading Project
* Yangon Urban Development Project
* Greater Yangon Water Supply Improvement Project Phases 1-2
* Power Distribution Improvement Project in Yangon Phase 1
* Housing Finance Development Project
* Hydropower Plants Rehabilitation Project
* National Power Transmission Network Development Project Phases 1-2
* Regional Infrastructure Improvement Project
* Power Distribution System Improvement Project in Major Cities
* Project for the Development of Finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Phases 1-3
* Project for Urgent Improvement of Communication Networks
* Urban Area Power Distribution Improvement Project
* East-West Economic Corridor Improvement Project
* Agriculture and Rural Development Two Step Loan Project
* Agriculture Income Improvement Project
* Regional Development Project for Poverty Reduction Phases 1-2