Abdullah-Al-Mamun:

TODAY marks 50 years of Bangladesh-Japan relations. In the last 50 years, the two nations have been able to form an exemplary relationship defined with mutual trust, respect, affinity and cooperation. The official relation between the two countries was established on February 10, 1972, with the recognition of Bangladesh by Japan. The Japanese embassy in Dhaka and the Bangladesh embassy in Tokyo were opened on 11 and 12 February, 1972 respectively.

Bangladesh’s ties with Japan, however, date back to 1970, when the erstwhile East Pakistan was devastated by a dreadful cyclone. Takashi Hayakawa, an influential member of the National Diet of Japan, raised a few million dollars for the cyclone victims. During the liberation war, the Japanese people and media took a proactive stance in favour of Bangladesh’s independence. To help with the reconstruction of the war-torn economy, a special ‘goodwill envoy’ was sent from Japan on March 13, 1972 — just one month after the official relationship was established — with a million dollars’ worth of fertiliser as a gift and technical assistance for the reconstruction of the Ghorashal Fertiliser Plant.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman paid a six-day visit to Japan beginning on October 18, 1972, which helped to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Afterward, a visit to Japan after assuming office has become a long-standing tradition for Bangladeshi prime ministers.

Since the independence of Bangladesh, Japan has had a substantial impact on the country’s overall development in a variety of sectors. Japan has committed more than $27 billion and disbursed more than $16 billion in the form of development projects, food and commodity aid, technical assistance and budget support since 1972 to this day. Bangladesh became the top single-year beneficiary of Japanese yen loans in the history of the recipient countries of the Official Development Assistance of Japan in 2021. Japan continues to support Bangladesh during the Covid outbreak with emergency budget support, medical equipment, vaccines and other forms of emergency assistance.

Japan’s contribution to Bangladesh includes the construction of more than 600 bridges, including the bridges over the Jamuna, Paksey, Gumti and Meghna rivers; the assistance in the construction or upgrade of more than 5,104 kilometres of road including the three mass rapid transit projects under implementation at present: Line 6, Line 1 and Line 5 North; the generation of 2,370 megawatts of electricity, with some yet to be done, accounting for 24 per cent of the country’s total generation capacity; the strengthening of the participatory rural development model in all 64 districts and of the administration capacity of 492 out of 496 upazilas; the disbursement of Tk 493 crore to 408 small and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing and service sectors to promote productivity, generate employment and train 1,387 SME owners and bank staffs.

Japan also helped to provide safe water for 35 lakh people in Chattogram and Khulna. Japan also provided 262 environmentally-friendly vehicles for waste collection that can collect 86 per cent of the wastes generated in Dhaka and 98 per cent in Chattogram city. With $650 million from Japan for disaster risk management, 117 cyclone shelters were constructed, five meteorological radars were installed, 240km dykes for flood management were constructed and 300 professionals were trained in disaster risk reduction.

Japan provided assistance in eradicating polio and helped Bangladesh to boost primary healthcare services for around 18 lakh rural people with the construction of 300 new community clinics. Japan provided technical support for textbooks for 13.7 million students and teacher’s editions and a one-day orientation on lesson study for more than 70,000 teachers; $107 million in financial support from Japan was provided to 175,112 small and marginalised farmers to increase agricultural productivity and promote diversification. Japan helped with the establishment of the first agricultural university and collaborated with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in developing almost 40 new breeds of rice and the farming of radish, aubergine, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. The government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has dispatched 1,265 volunteers to Bangladesh since 1973. Such assistances surely make Japan a true friend of Bangladesh.

The prime minister of Bangladesh visited Japan in 2014 and again in 2019, while the Japanese premier visited Bangladesh in 2014. The three visits further cemented the relationship between the two countries, mainly in the form of the Japan-Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership, the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt, or BIG-B, initiative and the Japan-Bangladesh summit meeting.

The BIG-B initiative aims towards developing infrastructure, improving investment in the climate-change sector and fostering connectivity in the Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar belt area and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The construction of a coal-fired power plant in Matarbari is in progress to support BIG-B initiatives. Moreover, with the help of Japan and the BIG-B initiatives, Bangladesh’s lack of progress in blue economy and ocean security can be resolved.

On the other hand, Bangladesh is increasingly becoming a lucrative destination for Japanese Foreign Direct Investment because of the rising cost of labour in China and other ASEAN countries and the US-China trade war. In 2018, Japan was the single largest investor country in Bangladesh. At present, more than 320 Japanese companies operate here. While the economic zone in Araihazar is likely to attract $1 billion investment from Japan and create one lakh employments, JICA is conducting a feasibility assessment of the Mirsarai economic zone and intends to examine the possibility of another economic zone in the Matarbari-Maheshkhali area.

The dividend of Japanese FDIs can significantly contribute in achieving the targets of the 8th Five-Year Plan, the Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2041.

A recently published report of the Japan External Trade Organisation, however, reveals that Japanese companies are encountering a number of challenges in Bangladesh, for example, delay in port and airport clearance, unskilled human resources, issues regarding tax and the repatriation of money and inadequate infrastructure. The Bangladesh government needs to take immediate policy measures to solve such problems.

One unique feature of the relationship between Japan and Bangladesh is the continuation of the relation without any mistrust or disruption because of international politics. Japan, as a result, considers Bangladesh a trusted partner in shaping up the regional order. In this reality, reasonable expectations, negotiations, compromise and cooperation will determine the future relationship of the two nations.

Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun is chairman of Japanese studies department in the University of Dhaka.