ASEANEWS HEADLINE-Business | MYANMAR: Japan supermarket director detained in Myanmar released: junta

Shoppers queue for purchases at an Aeon Orange supermarket in Yangon on July 1 (AFP)

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Hiroshi Kasamatsu, director of Aeon Orange, had been accused of trying to “create economic chaos” by selling rice at above the regime’s set price

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A Japanese supermarket director detained in Myanmar since June for selling rice at artificially high prices has been released, the military said on Monday.

Hiroshi Kasamatsu, director of Aeon Orange, which runs several supermarkets in Myanmar, was detained following an investigation into rice mills and supermarkets, the junta said in late June.

Kasamatsu “was released this evening,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in a statement.

He did not give details on whether Kasamatsu would be deported, or if he had been convicted of any crime.

Kasamatsu and three Myanmar nationals were detained on suspicion of breaching the reference price under the Essential Supplies And Services Law and “selling rice at higher price with the aim to make economic chaos,” the junta said at the time.

The price of rice, a staple in Myanmar, has more than doubled in recent months, according to traders, with state media blaming the El Nino weather phenomenon and market hoarders.

Conflict between the military and opponents of its 2021 coup has also disrupted the planting, harvesting, and transport of rice, analysts say.

Aeon Orange operates several supermarkets in the commercial hub Yangon.

The three Myanmar nationals detained with Kasamatsu work for local retail companies.

The junta spokesman did not say whether they had been released.

Since the military seized power, the junta authorities have introduced more requirements for export and import licenses, and tightened regulations on fuel imports.

A US dollar on the open market fetches more than double the central bank’s fixed rate, adding to pressure on businesses.