"Japan is playing a central role in assisting Myanmar’s ongoing financial reforms and attempts to achieve industrialisation. Japan is interested in Myanmar from both an industrial and a financial perspective, while Burmese officials see Japan as a natural partner for financial cooperation. Japan’s public–private assistance for financial development in Myanmar emerged in a Financial Services Agency (FSA) working group specialising in ‘international expansion’ in 2012. The working group proposed a collection of policy suggestions such as offering technical assistance for financial development and support for financial deregulation in Asia to promote the internationalisation of business activities by Japanese firms and financial institutions. Reflecting on these policy suggestions, the Japanese cabinet approved Japan’s Revitalization Strategy in 2013, where it articulated that ‘by taking in the growth of Asia, the government will vitalise stock markets and improve asset management markets to build a No. 1 financial/capital market in Asia’. In 2014, the revised growth strategy further pledged that ‘the government will also support Japanese firms’ and financial institutions’ activities in Asia’. In recent years, Southeast Asia has become a key foreign direct investment (FDI) destination for Japanese firms, partly because of rising labour costs in China. Since 2013, the ASEAN–4 nations — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand — have attracted more FDI from Japan than China. Japanese financial institutions, particularly banks, are also shifting their weight towards Southeast Asia. Japanese bank claims on Asia have grown 105 per cent since the end of 2008, as Japanese banks expand their client base from Japanese firms to local entities and even individual customers overseas. The IMF predicts that this expansionary trend is likely to continue over the medium term. There is new empirical evidence that banking FDI precedes and promotes manufacturing FDI. Indeed, coupled with the overseas re-expansion of Japanese banks, Japanese companies are eager to hold stakes in local companies or even proceed with mergers and acquisitions. This will enable them to enhance their market shares in Southeast Asian economies..."