Despite their long-standing good relations, the violence recently used to quell demonstrations in Myanmar that caused the death of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai has upped the pressure on Tokyo to impose sanctions on the military junta, experts say.
Kei Nemoto, a foreign studies professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, favors imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar to underline Japan's displeasure with the military government's use of violence.
"The junta may consider sanctions by Japan irrelevant, but we need to send a clear message to them," the expert on Myanmar's history and politics said, adding that a strong gesture would be consistent with the response of the international community.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.