Japan is urging the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, to remove Myanmar from its blacklist, seeking to end enhanced screening of financial transactions and make it easier for countries to do business there. A senior Japanese official said delisting could help Myanmar’s economy recover, while another person familiar with the matter said at least one other major Asian country supports the push. Myanmar has been listed since October 2022 after missing a deadline to address deficiencies and is one of only three jurisdictions on the FATF blacklist, alongside Iran and North Korea. The 40-member watchdog was due to conclude its final plenary meeting of the year in Paris on Friday, but it was unclear whether a change was imminent. The FATF Secretariat said discussions were confidential and any decision would be announced after the meeting. Myanmar remains under scrutiny over money laundering, cyberfraud-related illicit finance, drug trafficking and industrial-scale scam centres. The initiative follows renewed diplomatic contact between Myanmar’s military-backed government and foreign powers, including direct U.S. talks in Naypyidaw last month and more secretive talks in Tokyo earlier this month.