Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. (Mainichi, pool)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday praised the positive results stemming from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's recent visit to junta-ruled Myanmar, amid efforts to find a breakthrough in the political turmoil following last year's military coup there, the Japanese government said.

       During phone talks with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, Hayashi said the visit has led to an announcement of an extended cease-fire between the junta and ethnic minority groups, and made progress in humanitarian assistance, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

       Hun Sen met Myanmar's junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing last Friday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the country since the military seized power in February 2021 and ousted the democratically elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

       In a joint statement issued afterward, Min Aung Hlaing said he extended a cease-fire with all armed ethnic minority groups in Myanmar, originally set to expire at the end of February, through the year-end.

       Hayashi also expressed concern over the ongoing violence in Myanmar and agreed with Prak Sokhonn to closely cooperate in resolving the crisis in the Southeast Asian nation, the ministry said.

       For this year, Cambodia holds the rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that also includes Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

       Later in the day, Hayashi also held talks by phone with Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, with the two vowing to work together on the Myanmar issue, according to the ministry.

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