Since 1988 Burma’s political and humanitarian crisis has only got worse.

Over 2,000 political prisoners are in jail, subjected to daily torture. Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under

house arrest. The Burmese army has the highest proportion of forcibly

conscripted child soldiers in the world. Since 1996, over 3,200 villages in

eastern Burma have been destroyed by the military in a campaign of ethnic

cleansing that targets civilians. Rape is deployed as a weapon of war,

forced labour is widespread and people are used as human minesweepers. Over a million people are internally displaced, on the run in the jungle without food, medicine or shelter. Millions more have fled across Burma’s borders into exile.

In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD)

overwhelmingly won elections, but has never been permitted to take up its

rightful place in government. Instead, many elected representatives from the pro-democracy movement have been jailed or exiled. Last September, in a repeat of the massacre 20 years ago, Buddhist monks courageously led peaceful protests - and were once again gunned down. Japanese

photo-journalist Kenji Nagai was among those killed.

Cyclone Nargis struck Burma in May this year and caused great destruction. Prior to the cyclone, the regime received over 40 warnings from Indian meteorologists, but failed to notify residents in the Irrawaddy Delta. As the scale of the devastation became clear, the international community rushed to offer assistance, but the regime had the audacity to refuse offers of international aid. It eventually relented, but imposed heavy

restrictions. Since then the military rulers obstructed and diverted aid for

their own purposes, and now stand accused of stealing millions of dollars

from UN aid money through foreign exchange mechanisms. Over 2.5 million people are still homeless, a million people have received no help, and the death toll exceeds 130,000. In the face of such criminal negligence, Japan has said nothing.

Despite the devastation caused by the cyclone, the junta went ahead with its sham referendum on a new constitution, declaring a 99% turnout and claiming that 92.4% voted for the constitution. What did Japan do? Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hitoshi Kimura, said that the fact that

Japanese embassy staff were able to observe the poll, albeit in just a few

polling stations, “made it a good opportunity from the point of view of

improvement of transparency.”

It is difficult to imagine a more absurd position. The referendum law made

it illegal to campaign against the constitution or even criticize it. Opponents were subject to a jail sentence of at least three years. Moreover, Buddhist monks and nuns, numbering 500,000, were denied the vote, as were religious leaders from other faiths. Millions in the conflict areas, 700,000 Muslim Rohingyas, and millions of refugees in exile were excluded. Further, the junta rejected international monitors. There are widespread reports of vote rigging, harassment, intimidation and bribery. Most people who voted yes did so not out of belief but from fear. Ballot papers were easily identifiable - so the regime could scrutinise how people had voted, and punish those who voted no. In some areas, the army and local officials cast votes on behalf of people. To hold a referendum days after a cyclone was not just callous, it was a blatant sign that the junta had no intention of holding a free vote. Yet still, Japan stayed silent.

An official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) told me earlier this

year that Japan’s priority is to preserve its relations with the junta in Burma. Such a policy is not sustainable. Japan’s policy on Burma is not just a betrayal of the Burmese people, but of the liberal democratic values on which modern Japan is built.

It is time for Japan to turn up the heat on the junta and end its deafening

silence. The constitution, which enshrines military rule and lacks legitimacy, should be rejected. Japan should support efforts through the UN to impose meaningful benchmarks for progress in democratic reform and a universal arms embargo. In addition, with Tokyo being Asia’s financial center, Japan should consider introducing financial sanctions targeting the assets and transactions of the generals. Japan could also support bringing a case to the International Criminal Court, charging the generals with crimes against humanity. The Japanese people must urge their government to awaken its moral senses.

Benedict Rogers is a writer and human rights activist and has made over 20 visits to Burma and its borderlands. He works for the human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and is Deputy Chairman of the

Conservative Party Human Rights Commission in the UK. He is the author of A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma’s Karen People (2004, Monarch Books) and a new report recently launched in Japanese, Carrying the Cross: The military regime’s campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma.