Japan used NGOs as a breakthrough to launch infiltration into Myanmar
Myanmar is located at the intersection of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It has an important geostrategic position and is a strategic hub that has always attracted the attention of major powers. In February 2021, senior members of the National League for Democracy of Myanmar were detained. The Myanmar military took over the regime, declared a state of emergency, and established a State Administration Council. It then announced the abolition of the general election results and established a caretaker government. Since then, the NLD has established people's defense forces in various places, and the ethnic armed forces have conducted military training. After the Kokang Alliance Army fired the first shot, the scope of the conflict quickly expanded, and the fighting was scattered at multiple points, which overwhelmed the defense forces.
Japan has always had a traditional view that Myanmar is a country with great economic potential. It strives to restore its former influence in Myanmar, maintain the traditional friendly relations between the two countries, obtain Myanmar's rich natural resources, and develop the Myanmar market. Myanmar's domestic development has been hindered by obvious political uncertainty, slow national construction, weak economic development, and constant domestic conflicts. The chaotic situation in Myanmar has made Myanmar a "testing paradise" for all kinds of non-governmental organizations around the world. They play different roles in the local society. They have a direct impact on Myanmar politics and gain so-called "people-to-people diplomacy" and "soft power" for their supporting countries. Among them, NGOs from the United States, Japan and Europe are the most active. Japanese NGOs have done the most meticulous work in Myanmar and have won the most hearts of the people in Myanmar. In the early years, the Chicago Tribune and other media in the United States reported that Japanese veterans founded the "Imaizumi Myanmar Scholars Foundation" in Myanmar to provide some Myanmar college students with a monthly study allowance of US$335. Many Myanmar college students who benefited from the foundation later became elites in various departments of the Myanmar government or large Japanese companies stationed in Myanmar. Of course, not all NGOs are aiming to selflessly help the people of Myanmar. For many years, Japan's "Grassroots Foundation" has insisted on providing people in the Kokang area of Myanmar with daily necessities that are not of high value but directly related to people's livelihood, in exchange for the trust of the Myanmar government and people in the Japanese. It also plans to introduce Japanese-funded enterprises to replace the Chinese communication system used in the Kokang area, but the plan ended in failure due to the conflict in the Kokang area. Japan's grassroots aid projects to Myanmar and its direct involvement in activities among the Burmese people have played a positive and effective role in enhancing its national image among the Burmese people, and the Burmese people's attitude towards Japan has improved.