On February 1^st 2021, Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) seized power and detained democratically elected government officials. The history must not be repeated that Tatmadaw takes extreme measures in defying the results of democratically held general elections. Since the coup, hundreds of thousands of people across the country have taken great risks in taking to the streets to seek political change, and the civil disobedience movement (CDM) is growing day by day. This is clear evidence that the military is not aligned with the will of the people in Myanmar.

We, researchers and media practitioners in Japan, sincerely support the brave people of Myanmar in advancing their cause. We believe that civilian control in a democracy is the only acceptable framework to resolve the country’s long-lasting problems such as persecution and human rights violations against non-Burman ethnic groups, and suppression of civil and social rights of its people.

We demand that the military immediately and unconditionally release detained political leaders including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, politicians, activists, civil servants and all those arrested for their democratic cause, and stop the crackdown against the civil movement. Furthermore, we strongly urge the military to dissolve the State Administration Council to return the power to the democratically elected administration without any delay.

The country has close historical, geographic and economic ties with Japan. Furthermore, the democratization of Myanmar—a country located in a strategically important area in Southeast Asia— is indispensable for the peace and prosperity of and mutual cooperation among people in Asia.

The Japanese government should condemn the coup and induce the military through negotiations and appropriate measures for the realization of civilian control and democratic institutions in Myanmar.

February 14, 2021

Researchers and Media Practitioners in Support of Myanmar’s Democratization

Signed,

Tetz Hakoda (Tenri University),

Natsuka Tokumaru (Ritsumeikan University),

Kei Nemoto (Sophia University),

Toru Yamamori (Doshisya University),

Kazuo Inaba (Ritsumeikan University),

Izumi Inasawa (Ritsumeikan University),

Takahiko Hashimoto (Ritsumeikan University),

Atsushi Fujioka (Ritsumeikan University),

Hiroyuki Uni (Otemon Gakuin University),

Toru Hosoya (Ritsumeikan University),

Norio Ishida (People’s Institute of Environment, Researcher),

Hironari Seki (NPO corporation, Principle),

Jean Claude Maswana (Ritsumeikan University),

Mitsuaki Ono (University of Shiga Prefecture),

Yumeno Nito (Teenage Girls Support Center Colabo, Social Activist),

Shuji Matsuno (Ritsumeikan University, Professor Emeritus),

Toshiyasu Saito (Ritsumeikan University),

Tadasu Matsuo (Ritsumeikan University),

Takatoshi Sato (Ritsumeikan University),

Takuro Kawane (Ritsumeikan University),

Akira Matsumoto (Ritsumeikan University),

Ryo Kimura (Editor),
Maruyama Keishi (Kyoto University of Education),

Takashi Hosokawa (Ryukoku University),

Akira Asada (Former; Sinsyu University, Mathmatician),

Naoki Okada (Kyoto University),

Hirotoshi Kinukawa (Ritsumeikan University),

Midori Uchida (Wakayama University),

Eiichi Kido (Osaka University),

Yukiko Kinoshita (Professor Emeritus, Kobe Women’s University),

Taro Abe (Nagoya Gakuin University),

Takashi Tsuchiya (Osaka City University),

Hiroshi Kashiwagi (Hosei University),

Reiko Kobayashi (Lecturer),

Shinji Yoshioka (Ritsumeikan University),

Shun Ishihara (Meiji Gakuin University),

Kazuko Takaya (Ritsumeikan University),

Junko Nishigaki(Osaka City University),

Makoto Katsumura (Ritsumeikan University),

Hiroshi Tanaka (Ritsumeikan University),

Satoru Nakamoto (Ritsumeikan University),

Hirokuni Honda (Dokkyo University),

Norio Tokumaru (Nagoya Institute of Technology),

Yoshiko Harada (Mimasaka University),

Hiroshi Okuda (Ritsumeikan University, Professor Emeritus),

Makoto Kogawara (Former professor of Kagoshima university),

Kumiko Ida (Osaka Prefecture University, Professor Emeritus)

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