[ad_1]
[Tokyo 1st Reuters]- The Japanese government and local Japanese companies are busy responding to the recovery of power of the armed forces in Myanmar. Even after the transition to civil affairs, while Western companies were hesitant to invest due to issues like the Rohingya ethnic minority, Japanese companies expanded one after another, thinking that they would become important bases in Southeast Asia.
Communication conditions are likely to be deteriorating locally and, according to the Public Relations Department of SOMPO Holdings, it is difficult to connect to phones and the Internet from Japan. So I used the SNS app to communicate with employees in Singapore, who control the base in Yangon. According to local employees, there is no major confusion in the city, but there are lines at the ATMs (ATMs) in some banks.
The Japanese embassy asked Japanese staying in the area to refrain from going out unnecessarily. “At this time, we have not seen any movement involving the general public,” he said, but warned against unforeseen circumstances.
DENSO, where some 80 people, including Japanese, work locally, has poor communication conditions and cannot communicate with the local area.
Daiwa Securities Group, which invests in the operating company of the Yangon Stock Exchange, has a Japanese employee posted locally. Typically there are 11 people, but the number has dropped significantly due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
On the same day, the certificate was suspended because there was a problem with the network connection. According to Yamato public relations, employees wait at home. We are currently investigating the implications of a prolonged suspension of transactions.
Suzuki, a carmaker that locally produces 10,000 cars a year, employs about 300 people, including Japanese. According to the company’s public relations, the factory that was in operation in the morning will be closed in the afternoon. All employees were sent home.
NTT DATA has Myanmar as an offshore base for systems development and design. According to the company, it has about 170 employees, including five Japanese. Everyone is waiting at home.
Myanmar, which had been in the military administration for a long time, became civilian authority in 2011. The number of Japanese companies entering the market has increased since about 2013. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2,776 Japanese stay in Myanmar as long as October 1, 2018. According to the Japan Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO), 414 Japanese companies entered the market at the end of May 2020.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has been criticized by the international community for massacring the Rohingya, an Islamic minority, even after the transition to civilian rule.
Kirin Holdings, which entered the market in 2015, has been pointed out by an international human rights organization that some of the funds from a local joint venture are being used as a source of funds for the armed forces, and is being pursued by conducting research. According to Kirin, the investigation was completed late last year, but no conclusions were reached on how to use the funds.
A Kirin spokeswoman said she was watching the situation after the military took power.
Myanmar troops have denied the Rohingya massacre.
* Content has been added.
