Following the military coup in Myanmar, on Friday Japan condemned the Myanmar military verdict that invalidates the November 2020 general elections.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi evaluated the political process in Myanmar following the February 2021 coup. Motegi opposed the verdict that annulled the general elections, which Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won in a landslide victory.

"Such a move is not acceptable as it’s against the Japanese request to return to the democratic process. The important thing is to promote dialogue among fractions with differing political views," Motegi said.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won 238 seats at the parliament and 138 seats in the senate, ensuring their lead in the Nov. 8, 2020 Myanmar's general elections.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), claimed that NLD officials counted their party’s votes at least twice. The election commission has adjudicated that the election fraud claims were groundless and NLD won the elections.

The election commission said that the NLD "had misused its administrative power." The NLD would be dissolved, said the commission, arguing it had committed "fraud" while its leaders are being prosecuted as "traitors."

The Myanmar military took power on February 1, following the increased tension created by the 2020 general election fraud claims. The army declared a one-year state of emergency and took the leader of the ruling party and other officials into custody.

Some 899 people have lost their lives and thousands have been arrested as a result of the armed military intervention on protesters and rebel groups. As ongoing protests lure immense participation, the trials of high-level government officials continue.