Mekong News — July 11, 2026
Dr. Kyi Chan Ko, a Myanmar plastic surgeon who had been detained on suspicion of performing cosmetic surgical procedures on five occasions without a Japanese medical license, and another Myanmar national have been released by the Japanese police after an investigation concluded that no criminal offense had been committed, according to people close to him.
The case originated from a complaint filed by a 30-year-old Myanmar woman who underwent double-eyelid surgery in June 2025 and alleged that she experienced difficulty opening and closing her eyes following the procedure. Based on the complaint, the Japanese police regarded Dr. Kyi Chan Ko as a suspect and took him in for further questioning and investigation on March 3. According to one of his close associates, he was kept at the police station for questioning from the time he was first taken there and was not placed in detention.
“Dr. Kyi Chan Ko already possessed authorization to practice medicine and also holds a Ph.D. in Japan. He even operates his own clinic. Once the complaint was filed, the Japanese police simply carried out their duty by summoning him for questioning,” said one of his close physician colleagues.
According to his associates, the complaint alleged that one patient who underwent double-eyelid surgery experienced difficulty opening and closing her eyes, while two other patients claimed they had been left with visible scars. They further stated that the Japanese police arranged examinations of the complainants by a team of physicians, who reportedly found no evidence of the alleged medical conditions, while one complainant reportedly did not undergo the medical examination.
“After completing all necessary investigations, he was released within a few days because the allegations did not constitute a criminal offense. Japan is not a country where bribery can influence the legal process. It is a country governed by the rule of law. Although Japanese news reports described him as being ‘under suspicion,’ many Myanmar news outlets inaccurately reported that he had been arrested,” said his legal adviser.
According to a person holding a Japanese law degree, Japanese law Article 17 (Violation of the Medical Practitioners’ Act) provides that practicing medicine without a medical license is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to one million yen. If the offender is a foreign national, practicing medicine without a license may also result in deportation from Japan in addition to criminal penalties.
The same legal expert further explained that if double-eyelid cosmetic surgery results in complications such as difficulty opening or closing the eyes or leaves significant permanent scars due to surgical error, the surgeon may be required to pay substantial compensation to the affected patient.
According to people close to Dr. Kyi Chan Ko, he did not pay any compensation to the complainants who alleged difficulty opening the eyes or permanent scarring around the eyelids.
Dr. Kyi Chan Ko graduated from the University of Medicine, Mandalay, and obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Juntendo University in Tokyo, Japan. According to one of his colleagues, his doctoral dissertation can be accessed at:
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jmj/67/5/67_JMJ21-0006-OA/_article/-char/ja/
On June 29, 2026, Dr. Kyi Chan Ko announced on his Facebook page that he would return from Japan to Myanmar and planned to travel back to Japan from Myanmar around the end of July.
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