Walk for Myanmar Held in Osaka, Japan

By Gerry Yokota, World BEYOND War — Japan, February 24, 2026

On Saturday, February 21, members of the Japan chapter of World BEYOND War participated in a 5k walk for Myanmar in Osaka.

The walk was organized by Osaka Friends Meeting (Quakers) as part of a Month of Action for Myanmar.

The online kickoff event for the Month of Action was hosted by the Asia West Pacific Section of Friends World Committee for Consultation on Saturday, January 24. Yangon Worship Group held an online Meeting for Worship on Sunday, February 1, the fifth anniversary of the coup, where supporters learned about current events and shared ideas for action.

Over 120 parties have signed the official pledge to take some form of action. Actions have included study groups, film showings, scholarships, and patronizing local Myanmarese businesses.

The route for the Osaka walk was a riverside path, chosen to call attention to the plight of the 3.6 million people who are currently internally displaced in Myanmar, according to UNHCR. For them, water is life. An additional 40,000 are said to have fled the country.

The walk commenced from The University of Osaka and ended at a park close to Osaka International Airport.

As we watched the planes fly so close overhead, we were vividly reminded that over 8,000 airstrikes have been perpetrated on civilians since the coup, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, and gravely pondered the trauma they must cause. We learned about one local organization, Burmese Relief Center Japan (BRCJ), who is supporting IDPs by building air raid shelters.

We further learned about Amnesty International’s research on “ghost ships” carrying fuel to the junta. Amnesty’s research focuses on tracking jet fuel specifically because it is the type of fuel being used for war crimes.

We look forward to learning more at the upcoming WBW webinar with a representative of ALTSEAN on Thursday, February 26.