Asahi reported that a soccer player from Myanmar (Burma) who is in Japan for the ongoing World Cup qualifying round tournament decided yesterday not to go back to the country and sought GOJ protection on the grounds that his life would be “in peril” if he returned home. The athlete reportedly gestured in protest of the military regime during a game with Japan on May 28. The 27-year-old is expected to formally ask the GOJ to recognize him as a refugee in the near future.