Pheu Thai politicians including former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, her former deputy Phongthep Thepkanjana and ex-ministers Sudarat Keyuraphan and Suranand Vejjajiva were among those who went to see the journalist.

“Yuwadee is a respected, straightforward journalist,” Yingluck said. “She scrutinised me when I was PM, and I feel a pity that she is now in a sick bed.”

Secretary-General to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, General Vilas Arunsri, also visited Yuwadee, carrying a bouquet. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva were also spotted visiting her.

The 71-year-old journalist was admitted to hospital on Friday following gastrointestinal bleeding, which caused severe blood loss and oxygen depletion in her brain.

Despite being the spouse of former permanent secretary to the Defence Ministry Gen Sirichai Tunyasiri, Yuwadee is known for posting critical questions to the ruling junta government. She has also had arguments on several issues with Prayut.

A veteran on the Government House beat for four decades, she was banned from there last November on the grounds that she was retired and did not have a valid affiliation.

Government spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday the administration preferred to employ normal laws through the responsible state agencies, adding that “gradual progress” had been made.

“Use of force or violence is not always the answer in trying to solve certain problems,” he said.

In effect, the spokesman was turning down a call by a network of Buddhist groups in the southern border region for the use of Article 44 in tackling the insurgency-related violence that has continued for well over a decade.

Article 44 empowers Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order, to issue orders in the name of national reform, with power over other branches of government.

Sansern, who is the caretaker head of the Public Relations Department, said the insurgency problem was multi-faceted and had many causes, so the effort to solve it should cover all the aspects involved.

He said many factors contributed to the violence in the deep South, including personal conflicts, illicit drugs, local politics and conflict of interest.

Prayut has called for all sides not to use religion to create conflicts between worshippers of different religions in the southern border province, according to the government spokesman.

“The prime minister is confident that both Buddhist and Muslim residents do not want violence to happen. All the religions teach people to refrain from committing sin. People of both religions have to rely on each other and live together peacefully,” Sansern said.

Meanwhile, Army commander-in-chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart yesterday instructed the Fourth Army Area, which is responsible for southern provinces, to focus on ensuring safety for local residents as well as state officials.

He made his instruction during a visit to Pattani, where he had a meeting with local security authorities from the southern border provinces.

A new wave of violence occurred over the past week, just days after the Thai military and Mara Patani, an umbrella group claiming to represent insurgents, agreed to create a limited “safety zone” in the region, as a trust-building measure.

The sudden spike in violence led to a demonstration by hundreds of local residents in Narathiwat’s Ruso district on Friday.

Four members of a Buddhist family, including an eight-year-old boy, were shot dead on Thursday after suspected militants ambushed their car. A deputy village headman, his wife, son and sister-in-law were killed in the attack. Two other family members were injured.

The ambush provoked outrage from religious leaders and civil society groups, who also took part in Friday’s march. Dozens of local school children also took part, carrying a banner that said, “Stop the shooting” and “Stop the killing”.

Insurgents mostly aim their attacks at security forces, local officials and public school teachers, who are viewed as collaborators with the state. More than 6,800 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the insurgency since it erupted 13 years ago.

The Imperial couple’s visit, regarded as a goodwill trip to the Kingdom, marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are due to arrive this afternoon and shortly after are scheduled to lay a wreath and sign a condolence book for the late King Bhumibol at the Grand Palace.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said recently during an announcement of their visits that the Emperor and Empress will pay a condolence visit to Thailand to show respect for HM King Bhumibol’s tremendous leadership for the development of friendship and goodwill between Japan and Thailand.

They will later meet with HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn at Amphorn Satharn Villa at Dusit Palace.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have had a cordial relationship with the Thai royal family for more than half a century. In December 1964, when they were Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, the royal couple returned a visit on behalf of Their Majesties the Emperor Showa (Hirohito) and Empress Kojun (Nagako) in response to a visit to Japan by King Bhumibol months before.

Emperor Akihito took the throne in 1989. He chose Thailand for his first foreign visit after he became emperor – being welcomed in Bangkok in September 1991. King Bhumibol gave him the most auspicious order of Rajamitrabhorn, which is Thailand’s highest royal order. The Empress Michiko also became a Dame of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri.

The Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were in Thailand again in June 2006 to attend the 60th anniversary celebrations that marked King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne.

The Thai royals forged close relations with the Imperial Palace long ago. King Bhumibol began ties with the Japanese Emperor and Empress when he visited Japan as a state guest in May 1963.

The then Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun were seen in an old archive welcoming Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit when they were stepped down from their aircraft. Crown Prince Akihito was also there to receive the royal visitors from Thailand.

Like the Japanese Emperor, HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn has made close relations between the two royal families since he was Crown Prince and represented the Thai royal court when he attended the Imperial funeral of Emperor Showa in February 1989.

HM the King, while Crown Prince, visited Japan again in November 1990, when the ceremony of accession was held for Emperor Akihito.

Among other Imperial family members, Prince Akishino has frequently visited Thailand. With the cooperation of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, he has done research into the process of domesticating chickens. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Naruhito was in Thailand in 2012 for a trip that also took him to Ayutthaya.

While royal families of both countries are above politics, their relations and visits to each other are regarded as a precious gesture for relations between the two. Thailand and Japan are ‘strategic partners’ now in economic, security and political matters in bilateral and multilateral ties. The two countries also cooperate to encourage development in the Mekong region states.

The Imperial couple’s visit to Thailand is part of a week-long tour to the Mekong region, which took them to Vietnam five days ago.

The 83-year-old Emperor spent time seeking to soothe any lingering wounds from World War II. He undertook similar efforts on a trip to the Philippines last year.

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia which appears to have few grievances with Japan from the traumas of the war. The Imperial couple is due to leave Bangkok for Japan on Monday afternoon.

More than 47 per cent of respondents in the poll felt that Article 44 was associated with peace in the country. And just over half of those surveyed in the study said invocation of the controversial clause was helping the country’s fight against corruption.

The survey of 1,279 people in all regions of the country was conducted by Bangkok University’s Research Centre last week.

As many as 62.6 per cent of respondents said they were confident Thailand’s reform efforts would succeed with the help of Article 44, although 72 per cent admitted that their knowledge about the clause was minimal.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed (78 per cent) said powers under Article 44 should be retained even after the next general election.

Of those, 60.7 per cent said such powers should be used only in “situations where the government is unable to control” while 17.7 per cent thought Article 44 should be invoked only to maintain peace in the country.

However, 19 per cent said the clause should be dumped when the country returns to democracy.

Article 44 empowers Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order, to issue orders in the name of national reform, with power over other branches of government.

Meanwhile, according to the latest Suan Dusit Poll, most respondents said they had experienced peace in the country under the current government although conflicts and divisions between different groups still exist.

The survey was conducted on 1,189 people in all regions of the country between last Monday and Friday.

Asked about positive changes they saw after Prayut’s regime took power, most pointed to national peace, anti-corruption efforts and moves towards reconciliation.

But they also flagged negative issues such as restriction of rights and liberties. In terms of the economy, most saw positive changes in the government’s efforts to tackle economic problems and help the poor. But they also experienced a rising cost of living and higher personal debts.

The alarming development came as a report by Thai Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism (TCIJ) revealed that the dense hotspots in Shan State, Myanmar, are associated with Thai corporate investment in maize plantations.

Despite the strict regulations and law enforcement to ban burns during the current dry season in the North, it is expected that the haze situation in the region will worsen during the next few days.

Satellite information from GISTDA revealed that there are many hotspots in Shan State opposite Mae Hong Son province, and the wind direction information indicated that the smog will be blown into Thailand.

Mae Hong Son Natural Resources and Environment Office director Somsak Sappakosolkul yesterday said the haze situation in the province would continue to intensify as wildfires in the province could not be controlled and there would be more smog blowing into the province from Myanmar.

“We have found that there are still many illegal burns throughout the province and we also found that there is also intensive burning on the Myanmar side, which can severely affect the air quality in our province, if the wind carries the smog across the border,” Somsak said. He warned the smog would seriously affect air quality in the province and threaten people’s health while creating visibility issues.

The hotspot map from GISTDA’s fire monitoring system showed that there were dense hotspots in the south of Shan State near the border with Thailand.

On the Thai side, the map showed there were dense hotspots in Lamphun, Lampang and Tak provinces, with most in forestland.

GISTDA’s wind-direction map indicated the wind would blow southward from Myanmar to Thailand at an average speed of 3-6 knots.

According to the TCIJ report, published last week, Shan State has the most maize plantations in Myanmar at about 1.15 million rai – based an official statistic. It also has the highest hotspot count in the country.

The report said there was a large expansion of maize plantations in Shan State in recent years and 70 per cent of the maize plantations there were operated by Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand’s subsidiary Myanmar CP Livestock Company.

Air quality information from the Pollution Control Department yesterday indicated that all northern provinces, except for Tak and Lampang, had safe air quality levels.

The amount of small particulate matter up to 10 microns in diameter (PM10) ranged from 46 micrograms in Nan to 119 micrograms in Mae Hong Son.

Tak and Lampang were above the safe level of 120mg at 123 micrograms and 140mg respectively.

But for the guards themselves, the law has been a pain. Some companies appear to be less worried about registration than the financial costs involved.

“My friend says he will head back to his rural hometown and work on paddy fields instead, because the new law sets so many complicated rules,” Paijit Singhabubpha, 46, said.

He said his friend was willing to undergo the full registration process, including having a record taken of his fingerprints, but he was not willing to pay Bt1,000 for a three-year licence.

The Security Service Business Act, which seeks to regulate security services and boost their standards, was passed a year ago but has provisions that came into effect recently. Under the law, all security guards must register with police and to have completed at least mandatory education (Year 9 for those who left school recently).

Although the licence fee of Bt1,000 for a three-year period may not be huge, it means a lot to security guards who earn just Bt350 a day.

“And you know, we are required to work almost every day. If we fail to show up on any work day, we will be fined Bt1,200 per day,” Paijit said.

Working in Bangkok, he hoped his employer would help pay his licence fee.

Sakda Changdee, who owns Eastern Security Management, said his firm would not be able to pay the licence fee for its security guards.

“The new law also requires training for security guards, so my firm will have to absorb the training cost of about Bt2,200 per head,” he said.

His company has provided security guards in Pattaya in Chon Buri, hiring a total of 46 security guards.

“With the training, we will have to shoulder the additional cost of Bt101,200,” Sakda said.

He said his firm was willing to pay the Bt1,000 licence fee for its security guards but they would have to pay it back later.

Sakda said he would like to urge relevant authorities to review the fee imposed on security-guard firms.

“I think the flat rate of Bt50,000 is not fair. We are just a small firm. The rate should vary in accordance with the size of each firm’s business. How can you expect a small firm to pay the same fee as a big firm that has hundreds of security guards?” he said.

Sakda believed the Security Service Business Act would also make it harder to recruit security guards.

“When people complete mandatory education, they have plenty of occupational choices. How many would choose to be security guards?” he said.