Japan has become the latest country to downgrade diplomatic ties with Myanmar’s military junta, replacing its ambassador with a lower-ranked representative.
In an article yesterday that cited “sources familiar with the matter,” The Irrawaddy reported that the current ambassador, Maruyama Ichiro, will not be replaced when his term ends. Instead, he will be replaced by a chargé d’affaires by the name of Yoshitake, who The Irrawaddy said has been in the position since September 15.
While the move has not yet been announced officially by the Japanese government, Japan joins a number of other countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia – who have chosen to downgrade their diplomatic representation in Myanmar in protest at the military regime’s bloody crackdown on its opponents.
In each of these cases, the downgrade took place when the incumbent ambassador’s term ended, when the nation in question either chose not to name a replacement or named a chargé d’affaires rather than a full ambassador. In May 2022, Australia selected a “senior career officer with ambassadorial experience in the region” to succeed former ambassador to Myanmar, Andrea Faulkner, who wrapped up her term the month before. As the ABC reported at the time, the new appointee “will not present her credentials to the head of the junta, and will instead operate as the head of mission with the title of chargé d’affaires.”
In December of the same year, the U.S. did much the same, refusing to replace its ambassador, Thomas Vajda, upon the conclusion of his posting to Yangon. He has since been represented by Deputy Chief of Mission Deborah Lynn.
Things were slightly more complicated in the case of the U.K., which appointed a new ambassador, Pete Vowles, just five months after the military coup. However, given the deteriorating political situation in the country at the time, and the military’s violent crackdowns on peaceful anti-coup protests, Vowles did not present his credentials to the military-run State Administration Council (SAC), despite the repeated requests that he do so.
London subsequently chose to downgrade his title to charge d’affaires ad interim in reaction to the deteriorating political situation in the country, prompting a four-month standoff during which the military junta refused to accept his appointment, refused to issue him a visa, and told the U.K. government to send an alternative candidate. Although Vowles managed to return to Yangon several months later, the SAC expelled him from the country in July 2022.
This stand-off was further complicated by a stand-off over Myanmar’s diplomatic representation in London, after the country’s ambassador, Kyaw Zwar Minn, pledged his loyalty to the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government and called for the release of senior NLD members including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Kyaw Zwar Minn remains in possession of the Myanmar ambassador’s official residence in London.
These measures are obviously designed to preserve these nations’ diplomatic foothold in Myanmar, while avoiding any action that might be interpreted or presented as legitimizing the military junta. It remains unclear whether Japan’s decision to downgrade its representation in the country marks a significant shift in its approach to the country’s troubles.
Since the 2021 coup, Japan has joined other global powers in urging the regime to halt violence, release political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and restore the country’s democratic political system. On the third anniversary of the coup in February of this year, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko condemned a “situation where the Myanmar military has repeatedly extended the state of emergency without working towards a peaceful resolution while many innocent civilians are killed and wounded daily by air strikes and other acts of violence.”
However, Tokyo has been faulted for not matching its words with actions. While it quickly halted new non-humanitarian development projects and suspended a training program for Myanmar military officers, Japan has continued to engage with junta officials and remains the only G-7 nation that has not imposed sanctions against the military administration since the coup.
Tokyo’s decision is likely guided by the pragmatic approach that it has long taken toward Myanmar that moralistic sanctions policies achieved little except to open up a vacuum of influence that will simply be filled by China. Simon Tay, Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, told Bloomberg in June 2021, “Given how much money they have put in, and the fact that they see it as geo-economic competition with China, they are very hesitant to pull out.”