Suu Kyi leaves Japan after seeking aid for Myanmar

TOKYO, April 19 (UPI) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi finished her visit to Japan, seeking backing for her country's political and economic development, a report said.

Saying Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy, "showed herself to be a capable and pragmatic politician," Kyodo News noted pragmatism and flexibility in her drive to promote democracy as when she spoke to university students in Japan of her willingness to forge a better relationship with Myanmar's military.

In her meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Suu Kyi explained concrete examples of how Japan could help Myanmar, including aid to farmers so they could develop agricultural products on a par with neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, a Foreign Ministry official said.

"We need to make sure that the help given my country is actually what is needed by the people. I want the government of Japan to consult not just the executives," she told a press conference.