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The Nippon Foundation Delivering Additional Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to People of Quake-Hit Myanmar [2025年04月11日（Fri）]
Standing in front of an 11-story apartment building in Mandalay in central Myanmar. The building was destroyed by a massive earthquake on March 28, 2025. I went there on April 3 during my visit to the Southeast Asian nation to see the damage firsthand. The Nippon Foundation has decided to provide additional emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, hard hit by a massive earthquake on March 28. We made the decision after I visited the Sagaing Region, the city of Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw on April 3 to assess firsthand the damage to those areas in my capacity as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar. The foundation is coordinating with local NGOs and directly delivering urgently needed items including mosquito nets, waterproof tarps, and bedding mats to roughly 30,000 households (estimated 150,000 people) living in the Sagaing Region and the city of Mandalay, close to the epicenter of the earthquake, and Naypyidaw Union Territory, where the damage was especially severe. The emergency aid was in addition to the $3 million (roughly 450 million yen) worth of humanitarian relief, including food and medical supplies, that the foundation decided to provide a few days after the earthquake. Doctors and nurses treat patients at a makeshift medical tent set up after a hospital was destroyed in the capital Naypyidaw by the strong earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. Survivors living on the median strip of a road in Mandalay where daytime temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius. A destroyed building in Sagaing. A destroyed junior high school in Sagaing where six people were believed to be buried beneath the rubble (as of April 3). |
The Nippon Foundation Calls for Donations for Myanmar Earthquake Relief [2025年04月08日（Tue）]
A junior high school was completely destroyed by a strong earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28, 2025 (Sagaing, Myanmar, April 3). The Nippon Foundation has begun accepting donations to support the people of Myanmar, which was hit by a powerful earthquake on March 28. Many people were killed or injured by the earthquake and lives are still at risk. The epicenter was near Mandalay, the country’s second largest city. Myanmar is home to more than 130 ethnic minority groups, and more than 2 million people live in challenging circumstances as conflict among these groups and with the government has forced them into poverty as refugees. The earthquake has made their lives even more difficult. The Nippon Foundation began working in Myanmar roughly 50 years ago in the field of leprosy elimination. Since then, we have provided support in a variety of fields including health and sanitation, education, personnel exchanges and support for people with disabilities. Using the networks we have built and experience gained through these activities, we will provide the most urgent items needed to areas that were damaged. Donations made to the foundation’s Special Fund for Disaster Preparedness from April 1 to June 30, 2025 (tentative date), will be used to purchase and deliver food, medical supplies and other emergency items, and for relief and reconstruction activities, in areas damaged by the earthquake. The entire amount of donations received will be used to support relief efforts in response to the Myanmar earthquake. In the event any funds are left over, they will be used for relief efforts in response to a similar disaster. Donations to the Special Fund for Disaster Preparedness can be made via the link below: |
Responding to Myanmar Earthquake, The Nippon Foundation to Provide $3 Million in Humanitarian Aid [2025年04月03日（Thu）]
The Nippon Foundation has decided to provide the equivalent of $3 million (roughly 450 million yen) worth of emergency assistance, including food and medical supplies, to Myanmar, which was hit by a massive earthquake on March 28. The foundation intends to deliver the aid quickly, in line with on-site needs, with coordination of what goods are to be delivered where being carried out primarily by The Nippon Foundation Myanmar Liaison Office in Yangon. The following is the comment I issued on March 31 as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar: “I would like to extend my deepest condolences to everyone who has been affected by the earthquake that struck Myanmar and surrounding areas. Beginning with projects to eliminate leprosy in the country, The Nippon Foundation has been working in Myanmar for roughly 50 years, providing assistance in various fields including human resource development, health and sanitation, education, personnel exchanges, and support for people with disabilities. As Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, I have been working to achieve peace in the country since 2013. I plan to go to Myanmar from April 2 to assess the situation and to ensure that assistance can be distributed to areas that are engaged in conflict with the State Administrative Council (the military junta currently governing Myanmar). We will use the network that we have built through providing humanitarian assistance in the country to date to provide optimal support.” I left Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in the small hours of April 2, arriving in Myanmar via Thailand later in the day. |
My Article on Myanmar Posted on “JAPAN Forward” English Site [2024年05月23日（Thu）]
As I posted on this blog on April 30 and May 1, I visited the remote island of Bhasan Char in Bangladesh for the first time on April 6 to look firsthand at the situation of the Myanmar refugee community there and how the humanitarian assistance The Nippon Foundation has provided is helping them. I also wrote an article on this visit and my years of activities as Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and chairman of The Nippon Foundation, for the Seiron (Sound Opinion) column of the April 26 issue of the Sankei Shimbun, a vernacular national daily. For more than 70 years, Myanmar has been mired in a civil war between the national military and some 20 ethnic armed organizations (EAO). Then, with the military takeover in February 2021 leading pro-democracy civilian groups to join the fray, the county has fallen into even deeper chaos. Differences in ethnicity, culture, religion, and language, as well as the intentions of surrounding countries, have become intertwined in complex ways. As a result, every day I acutely feel how difficult it will be to achieve peace. My efforts have been going on for more than a decade. Admittedly, they have been marked by bitter experiences and repeated failures. With that in mind, I have tried as much as possible to control what I say and maintain a posture of "silent diplomacy." Now, for the first time, I wanted to report on some of my activities for the Seiron column to help readers comprehend just how difficult realizing peace will be. This article was translated into English and posted on the English news opinion site “JAPAN Forward” supported by Sankei. This article can be seen here. |
The Nippon Foundation to Provide $2 Million to Relocate 40,000 Displaced Persons from Myanmar to Bhasan Char Island in Bangladesh (2) [2024年05月01日（Wed）]
Displaced persons from Myanmar’s Rakhine State train in fish farming on Bhasan Char Island in Bangladesh on April 6, 2024, after being relocated from the crowded Cox’s Bazar camp on the mainland. The high birthrate among displaced persons from western Myanmar’s Rakhine state who have fled to the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where 30,000 babies are born each year, has increased the camp’s population by 3.71% annually, causing growing friction with the surrounding community. In these circumstances, I support the Bangladesh government’s program to relocate another 40,000 refugees from Cox’s Bazar to the island of Bhasan Char, some 60 kilometers from the mainland. That is why I visited the island on April 6 to look firsthand at the situation of the refugee community there and how the humanitarian assistance The Nippon Foundation has provided in collaboration with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), a Dhaka-based international NGO, is helping them. The foundation has provided $3 million to help refugees on Bhasan Char to become self-sufficient through technical, agricultural and fish farming training. For Myanmar refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camp, we donated $2 million to finance the construction of three two-story prefabricated movable steel structures and the building or repairing of 200 one-story structures to provide schooling for 16,000 displaced children (completed in 2023). In January 2024, the foundation offered a further $2 million to build more such facilities. During my day-trip to Bhasan Char, I visited fish farms, agricultural, poultry and livestock facilities, vocational and skills training centers, as well as the WASH Sector Clean Water Laboratory to promote clean water, sanitation and hygiene, an education center and a child protection center, interacting with fishermen, farmers and other community members. The Dhaka Tribune, UNB and other Bangladesh news organizations reported on my visit to the island, quoting me as saying: “Developing fisheries skills among the youth can enhance the community's quality of life in Bhasan Char. I can see numerous possibilities and opportunities for fish farming here on Bhasan Char. However, fishermen need to possess exceptional skills in fish-catching, boat operation, and the trade of fish, particularly in fishing techniques.” The reports continued: “He further emphasized that the Nippon Foundation and BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) will collaborate on enhancing these skills. He also highlighted that by developing these skills, fishermen will become valuable citizens, even upon their potential return to Myanmar.” On my way back to Japan, I talked to international and Japanese media in Bangkok about what I had seen on the island and the role The Nippon Foundation is playing, including why we decided to provide $2 million to help move 40,000 more displaced persons from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char. In an interview with the Associated Press, I commended the skills training program for the refugees, stating: “After their return to Myanmar, if they have no skill whatsoever, then they would end up living poorly in the country. So having the skill training in Bhasan Char is going to help them greatly.” I also commented: “I was quite impressed about how much support was given in Bhasan Char Island. And that support was being provided from the Bangladesh government, although the government itself is experiencing a very difficult fiscal state.” I have visited a number of refugee camps around the world. Humanitarian assistance for refugees usually takes the form of food, shelter, safe drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene, emergency healthcare services, child protection programs, and education, among other activities. But the Bhasan Char camp uniquely provides refugees with skills and vocational training, creating numerous possibilities and opportunities for them when they go back to Myanmar in the future. I sincerely hope this will become a role model for refugee camps in other parts of the world. (End) Displaced youths from Myanmar’s Rakhine State receiving mechanic training on Bhasan Char Island in Bangladesh. Displaced Muslim women receiving embroidery training. |
The Nippon Foundation to Provide $2 Million to Relocate 40,000 Displaced Persons from Myanmar to Bhasan Char Island in Bangladesh (1) [2024年04月30日（Tue）]
Residential areas on Bhasan Char Island in Bangladesh, which I visited on April 6, 2024, to take a firsthand look at the situation of tens of thousands of displaced persons from Myanmar who were relocated from the crowded Cox’s Bazar camp on the mainland. Five-story buildings house schools, vocational training centers, health centers and other facilities. Residents can evacuate to these buildings in the event of floods and cyclones. The Nippon Foundation has decided to provide $2 million to help the Bangladesh government relocate some 40,000 displaced persons from Myanmar to the island of Bhasan Char from the Cox’s Bazar camp in the southeast of the country. I made the decision after I visited the island in the Bay of Bengal on April 6 to gain a firsthand insight into the situation of the Muslim refugee community there and the role the foundation’s humanitarian assistance is playing. I was impressed by the support the Bangladesh government has provided to these displaced people by constructing a 14-kilometer-long embankment to protect the island from flooding as well as beautifully-built houses, schools, hospitals and mosques, powered by solar energy. As of January 31, 2024, 32,574 displaced persons comprising 7,899 families were living on the island located about 60 kilometers from the Bangladesh mainland, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Since 2017, almost a million displaced persons have been forced to take refuge in Bangladesh, mostly in Cox’s Bazar, after fleeing the conflict-stricken western Myanmar state of Rakhine. To reduce the pressure on Cox’s Bazar, the Bangladesh government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched a project in 2020 to relocate up to 100,000 refugees to Bhasan Char. Initially, the United Nations and other international aid organizations questioned the sustainability of this initiative due to the island’s remoteness and perceived vulnerabilities to cyclones, floods, storm surges and rising sea levels. But after the first groups of refugees, numbering in the thousands, had settled in after agreeing to be relocated there, they became supportive of the program. Upon arriving in Bhasan Char by helicopter from the capital Dhaka, I spoke with Dr. Hussain Zillur Rahman, chairman of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), a Dhaka-based NGO with which The Nippon Foundation has collaborated in providing humanitarian assistance to displaced persons from Myanmar in Bangladesh. He said that the Bangladesh government has built facilities on Bhasan Char to accommodate 40,000 more refugees from Myanmar, but has yet to secure ways of financing the relocation. (To be continued) Rickshaws seen along a road on Bhasan Char Island, Bangladesh, where tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar have been relocated from the Cox’s Bazar camp on the mainland. |
Ethnic Armed Groups in Myanmar Endorse The Nippon Foundation’s Peace, Humanitarian Initiatives: Joint Statement (2) [2023年09月11日（Mon）]
The Nippon Foundation distributes rice and other humanitarian assistance to families in Myeikwa village in Chin State in western Myanmar on June 23-27, 2023. The families returned from India where they had fled due to armed conflict in their home state. Aside from the assistance The Nippon Foundation has provided in areas of Myanmar controlled by seven ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), namely in Kachin, Karen, Mon and Shan states, I would like to report to those who made donations to The Nippon Foundation that we have also provided humanitarian assistance to create stable living conditions for about 373 displaced people from 92 households who were returning to Chin State from India where they had fled to escape armed conflict. As part of the assistance, though small in scale, in late July we completed and repaired 50 houses and provided families with rice, oil, salt, beans and canned foods as well as daily necessities such as detergent, toothbrushes, towels and underwear. Transporting and delivering these supplies by truck, boat and on foot proved a real challenge. There are hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar and there is a limit to what the foundation can do in distributing humanitarian assistance in the conflict-stricken nation. But the foundation’s staff based in the country, while mindful of their own safety, are working with a strong sense of mission in the face of increasing challenges posed by the serious food shortages in EAO-controlled areas and the political crisis in the wake of the military takeover in February 2021. In Bangladesh, more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees−or even as many as 1 million, according to some experts−from the western Myanmar state of Rakhine are taking refuge at the Cox’s Bazar camp. In late June this year, The Nippon Foundation, collaborating with BRAC, an NGO based in the capital of Dhaka, completed building 203 two-story prefabricated movable steel structures with restrooms at the camp to be used as for schooling and vocational training. The 230 million yen (about $1.58 million) project ensures learning opportunities for 16,000 children a year. It took three years to complete the structures after I decided to launch the project following my visit to the Cox’s Bazar camp in 2019 as Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and Chairman of The Nippon Foundation. I found the situation there to be much more serious than I had thought−worse, in fact, than any other refugee camp I have visited, including those in Jordan (home to Syrian refugees), Sri Lanka and East Timor. The Bangladeshi government had been quite reluctant to approve construction of buildings at the camp by international organizations and western countries for fear of making the refugee situation there permanent. But in the end it went along with our project, which envisaged constructing movable steel structures designed for temporary use by refugees. I sincerely hope that the displaced children will benefit from these facilities and be able to continue their studies if and when they ever return to Myanmar. (End) Humanitarian aid provided by The Nippon Foundation being delivered by truck to refugees returning from India to Myeikwa village in Chin State in western Myanmar on June 23-27, 2023. Aid being transported by boat to returning displaced persons in the western Myanmar state of Chin. A fleet of boats carrying aid to be distributed in Chin State. A house repaired as part of The Nippon Foundation’s humanitarian assistance to people in Chin State in western Myanmar following their return from India, where they had fled to escape the armed conflict at home. One of some 200 two-story prefabricated steel structures The Nippon Foundation completed in June 2023 at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh where more than 700,000 Muslims are taking refuge after fleeing the conflict-stricken western Myanmar state of Rakhine. The structures will be used as learning centers for 160,000 refugee children and vocational trainees. Inside a classroom where classes were given in English and Burmese on the assumption that they will return to the home country in the future. Exchanging views with refugee parents on their children’s education at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp. |
Ethnic Armed Groups in Myanmar Endorse The Nippon Foundation’s Peace, Humanitarian Initiatives: Joint Statement (1) [2023年09月08日（Fri）]
The Nippon Foundation has provided 64,000 bags of rice for distribution in areas controlled by seven ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in Myanmar that are signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) over the past year, according to a statement issued by the NCA signatory Ethnic Armed Resistance Organizations (NCA-S EAO) in early July. The statement as reported by media outlets in Myanmar also said the foundation will continue to distribute rice to EAOs in those areas during the 2023-24 fiscal year. “We fully support The Nippon Foundation and its chairman (Yohei) Sasakawa in the interest of ethnic people suffering from armed conflicts, and we here pledge to cooperate with him,” the EAOs statement said. In addition, the media outlets reported that the NCA-S EAOs “expressed their condemnation towards some so-called activists targeting Yohei Sasakawa and The Nippon Foundation, who are persistently engaged in providing aid to ethnic war refugees, noting that these efforts were initiated during previous governments.” Politician U Pe Than was quoted by the Development Media Group (MDG) based in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine as saying: “The Nippon Foundation is an intermediary between the junta and EAOs. I think it has provided food supplies as a way of showing support for the peace process between the regime and the seven EAOs.” The EAOs said the foundation has provided humanitarian assistance to the ethnic communities in the conflict-stricken nation for decades by undertaking new town projects, constructing hospitals and classrooms in those regions. Since I took up the post of Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar in 2013, I have worked tirelessly to mediate a ceasefire between the government, the military and about 20 EAOs, visiting the country and the region about 130 times. Up until the military takeover in February 2021, I had helped the Myanmar government and the military sign NCAs with 10 EAOs, while negotiations with the remaining 10 EAOs had as yet failed to produce tangible progress. The Myanmar media reports said six EAOs, the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army−Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO) and New Mon State Party (NMSP), have collectively signed the statement of the NCA-S EAOs. “Given our longstanding collaboration with The Nippon Foundation, we commonly refer to the statement as representing all seven NCA-S EAOs, even though only six EAOs have officially signed it due to the pending decision of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). It remains uncertain (as of July 5 when the statement was issued) whether the RCSS will join us later or release a separate statement,” said Colonel Khun Okkar, a spokesman for the group. Speaking to Karen News, Colonel Saw Sein Win, the adjutant general of DKBA, emphasized the urgent necessity of aid for the displaced individuals who have been forced to leave their homes in Karen State due to the ongoing conflict, highlighting the significant challenges they face in their daily lives. “I firmly believe that engaging in humanitarian work is a crucial step towards achieving stability and peace within our nation. It is imperative that we intensify our efforts to support such initiatives and provide assistance to our communities,” he said. (To be continued) |
“Humanitarian Ceasefire” Between Myanmar Military and Ethnic Armed Organization Well Observed in Rakhine State [2023年03月06日（Mon）]
Visiting five IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine on February 4, 2023. I personally donated one blanket per IDP to help them beat the cold weather this season in some parts of Myanmar. I visited the western Myanmar state of Rakhine early in February in my capacity as Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and chairman of The Nippon Foundation. The aim was to see firsthand whether the ceasefire on humanitarian grounds between the military and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed organization (EAO) based in the state, is observed as agreed upon between them. I brokered the ceasefire in November 2022 when I talked with senior leaders of both sides, ending months of intense fighting between them. The agreement is called a “humanitarian ceasefire” as it provides that it will remain in effect as long as The Nippon Foundation and international aid organizations provide people in the state with humanitarian assistance, such as food, medicine and daily necessities as well as in the form of building schools, clinics and infrastructure. After flying from Yangon to the state capital of Sittwe early on the morning of February 4, I took a helicopter to the township of Mrauk-U. From there, I visited four nearby camps where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sheltering in Tein Nyo, Kyaukrizkay, Myo Oo Gaung and Myio Tei and personally donated one blanket per IDP to help them beat the cold weather this season in some parts of the Southeast Asian country. After coming back to Sittwe, I went to an IDP camp in a township of Basara. While in Rakhine State, I talked with a number of IDPs as well as some political and social leaders. After coming back to Yangon, I had a breakfast meeting with some stakeholders and an online session with AA leaders. Before returning to Japan, I made an overnight stay in Bangkok where I spent a whole day being interviewed by 11 Japanese and international media outlets about my visit to Rakhine State. In the interviews, I stated that things are going unexpectedly well under the ceasefire agreement, noting that virtually no incidents have been reported between the two parties to the agreement since they agreed to the ceasefire accord. I have been informed that the military and the AA have established a system to closely share information and that many problems have been solved through talks. The foundation plans to provide IDPs in the state with a total of 23,000 blankets by the end of March. It is also committed to building schools, clinics and housing for returnees to resettle and has already called on the military and the AA to discuss when and where such facilities should be built. I said in the media interviews that we would like to use the ceasefire process in Rakhine State as a model for other conflict areas in Myanmar where the military and EAOs are still fighting each other. On February 1, the military regime announced the extension of the state of emergency, effectively pushing back elections it pledged to hold by August this year. “If this continues, it could prolong the military rule, so elections should be held no matter what,” I said. I would also like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish working-level contacts with Myanmar’s military regime, suggesting it set up an office in Myanmar as the first step. "Criticizing from afar will not solve the problems," I said, expressing my hope that current ASEAN chair Indonesia will take the lead in addressing the impasse. I visited a total of five IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine on February 4, 2023. I was heartened to see the smiles of children living in this IDP camp. Talking with a housewife living in an IDP camp. Being briefed on the situation of Muslims living in IDP camps in Rakhine State.
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Brokering “Humanitarian Ceasefire” Between Myanmar Military and Ethnic Arakan Army [2022年12月09日（Fri）]
The Nippon Foundation has announced a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed organization (EAO) in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine, ending months of intense fighting between them. I brokered the ceasefire when I visited the Southeast Asian country between November 25 and 27 and talked with senior leaders of both the Myanmar military and the AA in my capacity as Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and chairman of the foundation. I flew there in response to the urgent request from both sides for mediating a truce between them in strict secrecy, reflecting their concern about the growing number of internally displaced persons due to the conflict and also because the harvest season was approaching. “This is not a military or political agreement, but rather a humanitarian ceasefire, and is very significant because local residents will directly benefit from the fruits of peace,” I said in a statement issued by the foundation on November 29. I plan to visit Rakhine State hopefully before the end of the year to work out further details. Since the fierce fighting between the military and the AA resumed last July after a two-year lull, junta forces have blocked land and water transport routes, as well as communications in and out of the state, leading to serious shortages of food and medicine as well as hampering access to healthcare services for more than 2 million local residents. A spokesman for the AA said: “Our farmers have faced the most adverse impacts. The fighting had prevented them from harvesting their rice. The main task for us right now is to get food and medicine and we urgently need to harvest the rice on time.” There is no time frame for the humanitarian ceasefire as the agreement provides that it will remain in effect as long as the foundation and international aid organizations provide people in the state with humanitarian assistance, such as food and medicine but also in the form of building schools, clinics and infrastructure. This is the second time that I have brokered ceasefire between the army and the AA. At the time of Myanmar’s general election in November 2020, I visited the country as head of a Japanese government election observer team. Voting was postponed in Rakhine State, however, because of instability in the area where conflict between the Myanmar military and the AA was ongoing. Expressing concern that representatives from Rakhine would not be able to participate in parliament, I engaged in vigorous dialogue that resulted in a ceasefire to allow a special election to be held in Rakhine. This led to peace in one of the areas of Myanmar that had seen the most intense conflict. Nevertheless, fighting between the army and the AA resumed this summer, once again forcing local residents to flee. I hope the results of this dialogue between the military and the AA will spread and bring peace to all of Myanmar, which has experienced continued conflict for many decades. I will continue to work toward that goal as a representative of the Japanese government. |
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A Century After Its Discovery, First Confirmed Footage of Living Colossal Squid Captured Under The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census Project (2)
