Tokyo, July 1 (EFE).- Myanmar’s military junta detained a Japanese national, an employee of a subsidiary of Japan’s retail giant Aeon in the country, for an alleged violation of national rice price controls set by authorities.
Japan’s top government spokesperson, Yoshimasa Hayashi, confirmed the arrest in addition to that of four other individuals whose nationality was not specified, and who are now under interrogation in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar.
In a press conference on Monday, Hayashi said that a lawyer had met the Japanese national, who did not have any health problems, according to the embassy.
He added that the government would continue providing assistance and take the necessary measures to secure the detained citizen’s release.
The detained Japanese national is Hiroshi Kasamatsu, 53, general director of the products division of Aeon Orange, the subsidiary that operates in Myanmar, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
A total of 11 people have been arrested in connection with the case, in which the Myanmar junta accuses the company of selling rice at a price between 50 percent and 70 percent higher than permitted, although Kasamatsu is the only Japanese.
A Aeon spokesperson told NHK that the company would cooperate with the authorities’ investigation with the aim of resolving the matter as soon as possible.
A military coup in 2021 plunged Myanmar into a political, social and economic crisis, which has triggered a spiral of violence with new civilian militias that have exacerbated the decades-long guerrilla war in the country. EFE
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