WASHINGTON/TOKYO — The United States and Myanmar's military-backed government held talks in Tokyo last week, people familiar with the matter said, marking the second meeting between the two sides in a month as Washington steps up its re-engagement with the generals it shunned after their 2021 coup. The coup ended a decade of political opening in the Southeast Asian nation.

An earlier round of talks in Naypyitaw, Myanmar's capital, in mid-September centered on securing the release of an American businessman and shutting down scam centers that target Americans, but could pave the way for broader discussions, including on Myanmar's rare-earth mineral deposits, Reuters previously reported.

Exactly what the two sides discussed at last week's meeting was not immediately clear. The engagement was disclosed to Reuters by people with knowledge of the talks, including one US official, all of whom requested anonymity because of its sensitivity.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Michael Vance again led the American side in Tokyo, involved more than a dozen US officials, according to one of the people. Reuters could not establish who represented Myanmar.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the latest talks, but says it engages with all groups in Myanmar on issues affecting US interests. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government also did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about its role in hosting the talks, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement that it had been "communicating as necessary" with both sides, but declined to comment on specific diplomatic exchanges.

Last month's meeting in Naypyitaw between Vance and Myanmar's coup leader-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, provided an opening for broader discussions, people familiar with those talks previously told Reuters. The quick return to the negotiating table in Tokyo suggests both sides are keen to keep the dialogue going.

Scam Hubs and Rare Earths in Focus

A major focus of the US push is securing Myanmar's help in shutting down scam hubs that run romance and other fraud schemes and have swindled Americans out of billions of dollars, the people said. Operations of this kind have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, making them a growing target of multinational law-enforcement cooperation.

Researchers say many scam operations are based in areas controlled by army-backed militia, with some proceeds flowing to the military, raising doubts about whether Myanmar's leaders are serious about enforcement. The military-backed government has said it is participating in a multinational effort to curb scam centers.

US officials have also discussed access to Myanmar's large deposits of heavy rare earths, which are used in products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines. China dominates the global processing of these materials, a chokepoint that has driven Western governments to seek alternative sources. They acknowledge significant obstacles: the deposits are largely located in territory controlled by ethnic armed groups fighting the military, while China, the main buyer of Myanmar rare earths, could balk at any US role. How Beijing would react to an expanded American presence, and whether the armed groups controlling the deposits would grant access, remain open questions.

Separately, the US last week lifted sanctions on the daughter of a Myanmar businessman accused of supporting the country's military, describing the move as part of a new approach to the country.

"This approach highlights the importance of pursuing dialogue with all groups involved in Burma's civil war and commits to re-examining the range of tools the United States has historically leveraged to promote core interests in the country," the State Department said of the sanctions move.

Min Aung Hlaing remains under US sanctions for human rights abuses, including his role in the coup and the crushing of the popular uprising that followed, as well as the 2016-2017 mass killings and expulsions of Rohingya Muslims, which Washington declared a genocide. The United Nations says the armed forces have killed thousands of people in airstrikes since the putsch, which sparked widespread civil war.

Hunter Marston, Southeast Asia director at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, said the latest engagements in Japan show the Trump administration views Myanmar through a "purely transactionalist lens."

"The critical minerals and rare earths that Myanmar holds are viewed as probably the chief strategic asset that Washington is interested in within Myanmar," Marston said.

Japan's Role Unclear

It remains unclear whether Japan has any stake in the US-Myanmar talks beyond playing host, including for earlier discussions in the Japanese capital in June. Even so, there are signs that Tokyo is also moving to re-engage with Myanmar.

Japan's acting envoy to Myanmar met the foreign minister of the military-backed government earlier this month in their first known public engagement. Tokyo does not formally recognize the administration.

That meeting followed a September visit to Naypyitaw by Japanese ruling party lawmaker Hiromichi Watanabe, which he said was aimed at restarting bilateral cooperation and resuming development aid to Myanmar, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said the acting envoy raised issues such as protection for Japanese nationals and support for Japanese companies, while Watanabe's trip was made in his capacity as an individual member of parliament and "does not in any way prejudge" the position of the government.

Watanabe told Reuters his trip was aimed at preparing the environment to normalize relations, though he acknowledged that barriers remained.

Japan condemned the military's 2021 overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government but stopped short of joining the US and other Western governments in imposing sanctions on junta leaders and military-linked entities.

Tokyo was once one of Myanmar's largest foreign investors, seeking to counter China's influence in one of Asia's last frontier markets. Unlike numerous Western firms, many Japanese companies remained in the country despite the turmoil that followed the 2021 coup. Around 300 Japanese companies still operate in Myanmar, down from more than 400 in 2020, according to Japan's trade promotion agency, JETRO.

— Reuters