GRAPE VINE

Editorial Misrepresented Japan's Stand on Forced Labor in Burma

The Boston Globe:
Letters to the Editor
Jan. 3, 2001

Your Editorial Referring to the International Labor Organization's Deliberations on Forced Labor in Myanmar ("Penalizing Burma," Nov. 19) Said That "Certain Countries, Anxious to Protect Their Own Right to Abuse Their Peoples or to Invest Anywhere, Sought to Delay Any Definitive Action by the Ilo. With Malaysia in the Lead . . . Japan Backed a Dilatory Amendment."

This does not reflect Japan's position correctly.

Japan shares the overwhelming view in the international community that democratization in Myanmar should be promoted. Japan has also worked together with the ILO to promote improved labor conditions.

Accordingly, we have made diplomatic efforts directly and indirectly at high levels in order to encourage the Myanmar government to maintain its dialogue and cooperative relations with the ILO and take further steps toward eliminating forced labor.

It should be emphasized that our objective in the ILO was to eliminate forced labor in Myanmar and not to isolate Myanmar in the international community.

Japan considered that carrying out what is provided for in the International Labor Conference resolution of June would merely shut Myanmar out of international forums and close channels of dialogue without contributing to the real target of eliminating forced labor.

The fact is that Japan's investment in Myanmar is limited - it ranks only ninth among foreign investors - and economic reasons were not a determining factor with regard to Japan's position.

After the ILO deliberations, Myanmar's government expressed its commitment to adhere to and implement the measures announced so far to prohibit the use of forced labor. We hope that Myanmar will fufill this commitment and that consequently relations between Myanmar and the ILO will come to show steady improvement.

RYUICHIRO YAMAZAKI
Press secretary
Foreign Affairs Ministry
Tokyo