Japan FM says govt did not arrange Nippon Foundation's Myanmar visit
TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday that Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Japanese philanthropic organisation the Nippon Foundation, visited Myanmar, but not in his capacity as the government's special envoy to Myanmar for national reconciliation.
The minister's comments came after media reports that Sasakawa was among those who requested Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to release U.S. journalist Danny Fenster.
Hayashi added that the Japanese government had kept some contact with Sasakawa, but he refrained from divulging details.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Ju-min Park; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
