Exiled Cambodian opposition leader urges Japan to aid democracy

Sam Rainsy, a Cambodian opposition leader currently living in exile in France, called on Japan to provide support for democracy in his country.

In a recent interview in Tokyo, Rainsy criticized former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, 74, and his family for establishing a “dictatorship” in the Southeast Asian nation.

Rainsy said that he asks “the Japanese government to help consolidate democracy in Cambodia, because Japan is a model of democracy in Asia.”

After serving as prime minister for 38 years, Hun Sen stepped down and handed the position to his son, Hun Manet, in 2023. Since then, however, Hun Sen has filled influential positions and currently serves as president of Cambodia’s Senate.

In recent years, the Cambodian government has taken an authoritarian approach to suppress anti-government forces, resulting in the dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the country’s largest opposition party, in 2017. Rainsy once served as head of the party.

Rainsy said that he was visiting Japan to inform the Japanese government and lawmakers of Cambodia’s current situation.

Democracy in Japan is “deep-rooted,” with the country having the “most stable democracy in Asia,” he said.

“Japan is a model ... at least for Asia, to ensure that there is respect for human rights, respect for the fundamental freedoms and respect for the democratic principles,” he said.

In October last year, Rainsy announced the establishment of a so-called independent government in Paris. “We conduct our activities to express the will of the Cambodian people inside Cambodia,” he said.

“The main objective is to ... give hope to the Cambodian people,” he said.

“You don’t trust (and) you don’t believe in the current government in the country, but there is a government in exile outside which represents you,” he said. “We give them an alternative.”