Nikkei front-paged its one-on-one interview with Foreign Minister Motegi in which he said that suspending all of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) to Myanmar is an option if the junta fails to improve the situation in the nation. Japan, which provided 189.3 billion yen ($1.74 billion) in development assistance to Myanmar in fiscal 2019, is the largest ODA provider to Myanmar after China, which has not disclosed the amount of its assistance. Tokyo has already halted negotiations on new projects in Myanmar in response to the military coup in February and subsequent oppression of protesters. If Japan suspends all of its funding to the nation, including ongoing projects, it will be the first time for Tokyo to do so since the nation began providing ODA to Myanmar in 1954, according to the Foreign Ministry. Motegi told the paper that although Japan does not want to suspend all of its ODA, it needs to state firmly as a country that supported Myanmar’s democratization that it will be difficult to continue providing assistance to Myanmar under the current circumstances.