With her health deteriorating and little information available about Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her son fears he may not even know if she is still alive. Kim Aris told Reuters that he has had no contact with his 80-year-old mother for years and has only received sporadic secondhand updates on her heart, bone, and dental problems since the 2021 military coup that removed her government.

While he criticizes the junta’s planned elections later this month—widely dismissed by foreign governments as an attempt to legitimize military rule—he sees them as a potential chance to improve his mother’s situation. “She has ongoing health issues. No one has seen her in over two years. She hasn’t been allowed contact with her legal team or family,” he said in Tokyo. “For all I know, she could be dead.”

Aris suggested that Myanmar’s junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, may have his own plans for Suu Kyi, possibly using her to appease the public before or after elections through release or house arrest. A junta spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Myanmar’s military has occasionally released prisoners during holidays or key events. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Laureate, was previously freed in 2010 following elections, ending years of detention at her family home near Yangon’s Inya Lake. She became Myanmar’s de facto leader after the 2015 elections, though her reputation suffered due to international criticism over the treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar has faced ongoing unrest since the 2021 coup, with armed resistance taking control of parts of the country. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence on charges including incitement, corruption, and election fraud, all of which she denies. Aris believes she is being held in Naypyitaw and recalls her last letter two years ago, in which she complained about extreme cell temperatures.

Concerned that global attention on Myanmar is waning due to other crises, Aris hopes to leverage the upcoming elections, scheduled in phases starting Dec 28, to urge countries like Japan to pressure the junta for her release. He called this a “small window of opportunity,” noting that international attention had been stronger before her credibility was affected by the Rakhine crisis.

Aris, a British national who had maintained a low profile, emphasizes that his mother was not complicit in what the UN described as a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya. Myanmar’s constitution had limited her authority over the military, and she admitted that war crimes may have occurred while denying genocide.

During his visit to Japan, Aris met with politicians and officials to push for a stronger stance against the junta and rejection of the elections. Reflecting on his mother’s possible reaction, he said, “She’d be incredibly sad that I had to do this. She always wanted me not to get involved. But I have no choice—I am her son, and if I don’t act, no one else will.”