The United Nations Development Program is preparing to normalize aid to Burma this month under an initiative taken by Japan, according to the Japanese news agency Jiji. The move follows an informal meeting hosted by Japan’s permanent mission to the UN that sought to coordinate opinions on how to time the removal of the body’s aid restrictions. Citing the easing of US and EU sanctions on Burma, the agency reported that “competition is growing from other countries eager to tap its natural resources with the help of development aid.”