In Myanmar, the junta has arrested a Japanese employee of Aaon supermarkets on charges of violating the law on rice reference prices, with Tokyo demanding his immediate release.
Hiroshi Kasamatsu, Japanese director of Aeon Orange, the Burmese subsidiary of the Japanese retail giant, was arrested following an investigation into the rice manufacturing and distribution sector, the information team of the junta late Sunday afternoon.
Mr Kasamatsu and three Myanmar nationals are suspected of violating the law on reference prices for essential goods and services and “selling rice at a higher price with the aim of causing economic chaos”, the military junta ruling the country after a 2021 coup said.
She did not give details of their arrest date or where they are being held.
“As far as we understand, our national in question is being questioned at a police station in Yangon,” Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
“We ask the local authorities to release him immediately,” he said.
A lawyer met with Mr. Kasamatsu on Sunday and told Japanese embassy officials “there were no health problems,” he added.
AFP was unable to reach the Japanese embassy in Yangon for comment.
An Aeon spokesman told AFP that Kasamatsu headed the commodities division of Aeon’s local subsidiary.
The price of rice, a staple food in Myanmar, has more than doubled in recent months, traders say.
State media blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon and the greed of market players.
Conflicts between the military and opponents of the 2021 coup have also disrupted rice planting, harvesting and transportation, analysts say.
Aeon Orange manages several supermarkets in Rangoon, the main city and economic heart of Burma.
