TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Japan will halt 550 million yen ($4.7 million) in aid to Myanmar following the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in which a Japanese video journalist was killed, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said on Tuesday.
Japan has withheld new aid to impoverished Myanmar since democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, but it has funded emergency health projects and provided some training and technological transfers.
"Taking into account the present Myanmar situation and the United Nations Security Council statement, we have decided to cut back further on aid," Komura said in a cabinet meeting, according to a government statement issued afterward.
The U.N. Security Council last week issued a statement deploring the crackdown and calling for a "genuine dialogue" with opposition leaders.
"We need to show the Japanese government's position," Komura told reporters. "We cannot take action supporting the military government at this stage."
The cancelled grant aid had been intended to fund a human resources centre.
Komura added that Japan was unwilling to stop support for health programmes because it would have an immediate effect on Myanmar's people.
Japan has provided a total of about 3 billion yen ($26 million) in aid annually in recent years, compared with 10 billion yen in 2001.
($1=117.37 yen)
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