Japan
BB to release commemorative coin on 50th anniversary of Japan-Bangladesh diplomatic tie
Bangladesh Bank will release a new commemorative silver coin worth Tk 50 on the occasion of 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan.
The coin has been made by a joint venture of Bangladesh Bank and Japan Mint, a state-owned company producing Japanese currency.
The new silver coin will be sold from February 10, 2022 at Bangladesh Bank's Motijheel office and Bangladesh Bank Taka Museum at Mirpur.
It will also be sold in Japan through Japan Mint. The price of the coin along with the commemorative box has been fixed at Tk 5000.
The round coin with a diameter of 35 mm weighs 20 grams. The logo on the front of the commemorative coin bears the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-Japan diplomatic relations.
The upper part of the logo is printed in color print technology with cherry blossoms (national flower of Japan) with stalks and water lily (national flower of Bangladesh) with bud floating in the water below. In addition, on the left side of the logo, above and below the words '50 Taka 'is printed in English and Bengali respectively.
The National Memorial of Bangladesh is printed on the back of the commemorative coin. The 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-Japan diplomatic relations and Bangladesh Bank (in Bengali and English) are inscribed on the top of the memorial. Printed below the memorial is 1972–2022.
Japan, one of the development partners of Bangladesh, recognized the People's Republic of Bangladesh on 10 February 1972, shortly after independence.
Japan's Kobe marks 27th anniversary of deadly quake
The port city of Kobe in the western Japanese prefecture of Hyogo on Monday marked the 27th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake striking the region and claiming the lives of 6,434 people.
A moment of silence was observed at 5:46 a.m. local time on Monday morning, the time the 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the region in 1995.
Read: Japanese space tourists safely return to Earth
Mourners lit around 5,000 lanterns made from bamboo and paper on the previous evening.
The lanterns formed the numbers "1.17" to signify the date of the deadly temblor. The lanterns also formed the kanji character for "forget", local media reported.
"Forget" in this instance is intended to be a message of hope and wishes for the quake and the calamity it brought to never be forgotten.
Read: Japan to provide more AstraZeneca vaccines to Bangladesh Dec 21
The memorial events and number of attendees this year in Kobe and its surrounding regions have been scaled down compared with past years as the current COVID-19 situation is gripping the nation, although the city and prefecture are keen for memories and lessons of the deadly earthquake to be passed down to younger generations.
Access to safe, effective vaccines to be ensured in Bangladesh: Japan
Japan has said “equitable and comprehensive” access to safe and effective vaccines will be ensured in Bangladesh.
“I would like to reiterate that Japan will stand by Bangladesh in the fight against Covid-19 and will work together to contain Covid-19,” said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki.
Read: Canada provides 2.2mn doses of AstraZeneca to Bangladesh
On Tuesday, Bangladesh received 704,010 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Japan. This was delivered in addition to the 788,200 doses of vaccine that arrived on December 14, totalling approximately 1.5 million doses, said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday.
In July and August, the government of Japan provided over 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh through the COVAX Facility to meet the urgent needs of the Bangladeshi people who had been long waiting for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Read: Bangladesh gets more AstraZeneca doses from France
Considering the fact that there are still many people who require vaccination in Bangladesh and in light of the important relationship between Japan and Bangladesh, the government of Japan decided to provide another 1.5 million vaccines to the people of Bangladesh.
Champions Trophy Hockey: Korea V Japan final after South Asian favourites eliminated
Japan and South Korea stormed into the final of the 6th edition of the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2021, shocking joint defending champions India and Pakistan in nerve shattering semifinals at the Maulana Bhashani National Stadium here on Tuesday.
South Korea will play Japan in the final on Wednesday at 6 pm while two traditional subcontinental rivals India and Pakistan will meet each other in the 3rd place deciding match earlier at 3:30 pm at the same venue.
The round robin match between the finalists had ended in an exciting 3-3 draw, while India beat Pakistan 3-1 when they met in the group phase.
In the day’s first semifinal, South Korea eliminated former World and Olympics Champions Pakistan 6-5 in an 11-goal thriller, featuring four goals by Jang Jong Hyun.
Korea and Pakistan had qualified for the semifinals in 2nd and 3rd slots respectively with only one win, against hosts Bangladesh.
Read: Both semis of Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Tuesday
In the day’s 2nd semi, India, the Olympics bronze medalists and only unbeaten team in the ongoing meet, made their exit from the prestigious Asian meet after suffering their first defeat losing to Japan 5-3 in Tuesday’s second semifinal.
With the day’s well-merited victory, Japan not only qualified for the final of the prestigious meet for the first time since 2013 with their first victory against India after suffering 17 consecutive defeats, but also took sweet revenge for a 6-0 drubbing in the league stage of this year’s meet.
In the keenly contested first semis, captain Umar Bhutta put Pakistan ahead in the very 3rd minute with a spectacular field goal (1-0) while Jang Jong Hyun leveled the margin for Korea in the 11th minute from penalty stroke (1-1)
In the following minute, Jang Jong Hyun put Korea ahead from behind scoring his 2nd goal, also from a penalty stoke to lead the first quarter (2-1) . Korea got penalty stroke when Shakil Butt of Pakistani pushed a Korean player inside the D area.
Junaid Manzoor of Pakistan neutralized the match in the 22nd minute tapping ball home (2-2).
Jang Jong Hyun of Korea completed hat-trick in the 24th minute from penalty corner (3-2).
Afroz again leveled Pakistan margin in the 29th minute by a field goal after playing discipline game (3-3) while Jihun Yang of Korea again neutralized the match from a penalty corner in the dying moment of the 2nd quarter (4-3) .
Junwoo Jeong further sounded the Korean margin in the dying moment of the 3rd quarter by a field goal utilizing a lapse of Pakistani defender Mubashar Ali (5-3).
Mubashar Ali reduced the Pakistan margin in the 47th minute by a penalty corner (5-4).
The match turned into an exciting stage when Mubashar Ali leveled the margin in the 51st minute converting another penalty corner (5-5).
But lady luck finally smiled on Korea when their hattrick maker Jang Jong Hyun hit the match-winner scoring his 4th goal in the 55th minute (6-5) to the frustration of former World and Olympics champions Pakistan.
Jang was adjudged the man of the match.
Read: Asian Champions Trophy Hockey: Pakistan play 3-3 draw with Korea
Besides, Korean goalie Jaehyeon Kim also deserved appreciation for foiling a good number of Pakistani attempts.
In the second semi, Japan took advantage of a fast start, quickly racing to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. Although India quickly clawed a goal back in the second quarter, Japan earned a penalty just before half-time that Kirishita converted to restore the 2-goal advantage.
The third quarter proved fatal for India, as Japan again came flying out of the blocks and scored twice, through Kosei Kawabe and then Ooka.
Although the Indians tried to mount a brave comeback in the final quarter, it was never going to be enough, except for restoring some pride to the scoresheet, as the game ended 5-3 to Japan.
Japanese space tourists safely return to Earth
A Japanese billionaire, his producer and a Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Monday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station.
Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, his producer Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin made a soft landing in a Russian Soyuz capsule in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 9:13 a.m. (0313 GMT) about 148 kilometers (about 92 miles) southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan.
Low clouds prevented the deployment of search-and-rescue helicopters to the area, so rescue teams reached the landing site in all-terrain vehicles to assist the crew and conduct medical check-ups. They reported that the trio was feeling fine.
Maezawa, 46, and his 36-year-old producer Hirano were the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009. Misurkin was on his third space mission.
Speaking to The Associated Press last week in a live interview from the orbiting space station, Maezawa said that “once you are in space, you realize how much it is worth it by having this amazing experience.”
Asked about reports claiming that he paid over $80 million for the 12-day mission, Maezawa said he couldn’t disclose the contract sum but admitted that he paid “pretty much” that amount.
Read: Satellite images, expert suggest Iranian space launch coming
In October, Russian actor Yulia Peresild and film director Klim Shipenko spent 12 days on the station to make the world’s first movie in orbit, a project sponsored by Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos to help burnish the nation’s reputation for space glory.
Staying behind at the station are NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Mark Vande Hei; Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov; and Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency.
Speaking to the AP from orbit, Maezawa deflected criticism from those who questioned his decision to spend money on space travel instead of using it to help people back on Earth, saying that “those who criticize are perhaps those who have never been to space.”
He said he felt “a little bit of motion sickness” and it was “a little bit difficult to sleep,” adding that future space tourists should be prepared to spend up to five days adapting to zero gravity.
Maezawa said he was happy with the length of his trip, saying that “12 days was about right for me” to adapt to the motion sickness and enjoy the rest of the flight.
After asking the public for ideas before the flight, Maezawa had compiled a list of 100 things to do in space that included playing some sports inside the space station such as badminton, table tennis and golf.
Read: SpaceX’s Musk: 1st Starship test flight to orbit in January
Space Adventures, a Virginia-based company that organized his flight, previously sent seven other tourists to the space station between 2001 and 2009.
Maezawa made his fortune in retail fashion, launching Japan’s largest online fashion mall, Zozotown. Forbes magazine has estimated his net worth at $1.9 billion.
The tycoon has also booked a flyby around the moon aboard Elon Musk’s Starship and will be joined on that trip by eight contest winners. He said he plans to undertake that mission in 2023.
Solution to Rohingya crisis to help realize free Indo-Pacific: Japan
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said Japan will continue to work towards early repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar noting that a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis will be helpful to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“I’m of the view that a durable solution to this crisis will be conducive to realising Free and Open Indo- Pacific,” he said on Wednesday.
The Japanese Ambassador mentioned that his country will continue contributing to the better living conditions of refugees and host communities in collaboration with international organisations and NGOs.
Speakers for enhancing economic collaboration between Bangladesh, Japan
Speakers at a seminar on “Economic Collaboration between Bangladesh and Japan: Public and Private Sector Investment" emphasised enhancing Japanese investment in the country.
They said Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can play a pivotal role in the development of Bangladesh. They also urged the stakeholders to ensure efficient use of Japanese investment in the country.
Dhaka Branch Council (DBC), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) and Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) jointly organised the seminar at ICMAB Ruhul Quddus Auditorium in the city on Thursday.
Read: Japan Desk in CCCI to help solve investment issues; promote Ctg: Japan
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki, JICA Bangladesh Chief Hayakawa Yuho were present as chief guest and special guest respectively at the function, said a press release.
JETRO Chief Representative Yuji Ando, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) President A.K.M. Delwer Hussain, ICMAB President Abu Bakar Siddique, DBC Chairman Bakhtiar Alam, JBCCI President Asif A. Chowdhury, and Secretary General Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan, were also present on the occasion.
Read: Japan expects Hasina to visit Tokyo next year
The discussants highlighted the importance of joint collaboration between ICMAB and JBCCI, Japanese companies and policy makers for improving the business environment in Bangladesh and creating more opportunities for engaging cost and management accountants (CMAs) in the value added activities of Japanese companies and development projects.
Dr. Syed A Mamun, Vice Chairman of DBC moderated the program.
Japan’s military, among world’s strongest, looks to build
Dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers fired explosives and machine guns in drills Monday on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, a main stronghold for a nation that is perhaps the world’s least-known military powerhouse.
Just across the sea from rival Russia, Japan opened up its humbly named Self Defense Force’s firing exercises to the media in a display of public firepower that coincides with a recent escalation of Chinese and Russian military moves around Japanese territory.
The drills, which foreign journalists rarely have a chance to witness, will continue for nine days and include about 1,300 Ground Self Defense Force troops. On Monday, as hundreds of soldiers cheered from the sidelines and waved unit flags, lines of tanks shot at targets meant to represent enemy missiles or armored vehicles.
The exercises illuminate a fascinating, easy-to-miss point. Japan, despite an officially pacifist constitution written when memories of its World War II rampage were still fresh — and painful — boasts a military that puts all but a few nations to shame.
And, with a host of threats lurking in Northeast Asia, its hawkish leaders are eager for more.
It’s not an easy sell. In a nation still reviled by many of its neighbors for its past military actions, and where domestic pacifism runs high, any military buildup is controversial.
Japan has focused on its defensive capabilities and carefully avoids using the word “military” for its troops. But as it looks to defend its territorial and military interests against an assertive China, North Korea and Russia, officials in Tokyo are pushing citizens to put aside widespread unease over a more robust role for the military and support increased defense spending.
As it is, tens of billions of dollars each year have built an arsenal of nearly 1,000 warplanes and dozens of destroyers and submarines. Japan’s forces rival those of Britain and France, and show no sign of slowing down in a pursuit of the best equipment and weapons money can buy.
Not everyone agrees with this buildup. Critics, both Japan’s neighbors and at home, urge Tokyo to learn from its past and pull back from military expansion.
There’s also domestic wariness over nuclear weapons. Japan, the only nation to have atomic bombs dropped on it in war, possesses no nuclear deterrent, unlike other top global militaries, and relies on the so-called U.S. nuclear umbrella.
Proponents of the new military muscle flexing, however, say the expansion is well-timed and crucial to the Japanese alliance with Washington.
China and Russia have stepped up military cooperation in recent years in an attempt to counter growing U.S.-led regional partnerships.
In October, a fleet of five warships each from China and Russia circled Japan as they traveled through the Pacific to the East China Sea. Last month, their warplanes flew together near Japan’s airspace, causing Japanese fighter jets to scramble. In fiscal year 2020 through March, Japanese fighters scrambled more than 700 times — two-thirds against Chinese warplanes, with the remainder mostly against Russians — the Defense Ministry said.
Russia’s military also recently deployed coastal defense missile systems, the Bastion, near disputed islands off the northern coast of Hokkaido.
Japan was disarmed after its WW II defeat. But a month after the Korean War began in 1950, U.S. occupation forces in Japan created a 75,000-member lightly armed de facto army called the National Police Reserve. The Self Defense Force, the country’s current military, was founded in 1954.
Today, Japan is ranked fifth globally in overall military power after the United States, Russia, China and India, and its defense budget ranked sixth in the 2021 ranking of 140 countries by the Global Firepower rating site.
During archconservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s more than eight-year rule, which ended a year ago, Japan significantly expanded its military role and budget. Abe also watered down the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution in 2015, allowing Japan to come to the defense of the United States and other partner nations.
Japan has rapidly stepped up its military role in its alliance with Washington, and has made more purchases of costly American weapons and equipment, including fighter jets and missile interceptors.
“Japan faces different risks coming from multiple fronts,” said defense expert Heigo Sato, a professor at the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University in Tokyo.
Among those risks are North Korea’s increased willingness to test high-powered missiles and other weapons, provocations by armed Chinese fishing boats and coast guard ships, and Russia’s deployment of missiles and naval forces.
One of North Korea’s missiles flew over Hokkaido, landing in the Pacific in 2017. In September, another fell within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone off northwestern Japan.
Under a bilateral security pact, Japan hosts about 50,000 U.S. troops, mostly on the southern island of Okinawa, which, along with Japanese units in Hokkaido, are strategically crucial to the U.S. presence in the Pacific.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October, said during his first troop review that he would consider “all options,” including possibly pursuing pre-emptive strike capabilities to further “increase Japan’s defense power” — a divisive issue that opponents say violates the constitution.
Read:3 feared dead as Myanmar army truck runs down protesters
Japan has more than 900 warplanes, 48 destroyers, including eight Aegis missile-combating systems, and 20 submarines. That exceeds Britain, Germany and Italy. Japan is also buying 147 F-35s, including 42 F-35Bs, making it the largest user of American stealth fighters outside of the United States, where 353 are to be deployed.
Among Japan’s biggest worries is China’s increased naval activity, including an aircraft carrier that has been repeatedly spotted off Japan’s southern coasts.
Japan has customarily maintained a defense budget cap at 1% of its GDP, though in recent years the country has faced calls from Washington to spend more.
Kishida says he is open to doubling the cap to the NATO standard of 2%.
As a first step, his Cabinet recently approved a 770 billion yen ($6.8 billion) extra budget for the fiscal year to accelerate missile defense and reconnaissance activity around Japanese territorial seas and airspace, and to bolster mobility and emergency responses to defend its remote East China Sea islands. That would bring the 2021 defense spending total to 6.1 trillion yen ($53.2 billion), up 15% from the previous year, and 1.09% of Japan’s GDP.
Experts say a defense budget increase is the price Japan must pay now to make up for a shortfall during much of the postwar era, when the country prioritized economic growth over national security.
As China is playing tough in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as a regional flashpoint, with Japan, the United States and other democracies developing closer ties with the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary.
China’s buildup of military facilities in the South China Sea has heightened Tokyo’s concerns in the East China Sea, where the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands are also claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu. China has sent a fleet of armed coast guard boats to routinely circle them and to go in and out of Japanese-claimed waters, sometimes chasing Japanese fishing boats in the area.
Japan deploys PAC3 land-to-air missile interceptors on its westernmost island of Yonaguni, which is only 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Taiwan.
In part because of a relative decline of America’s global influence, Japan has expanded military partnerships and joint exercises beyond its alliance with the United States, including with Australia, Canada, Britain, France and other European countries, as well as in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Japan also cooperates with NATO.
Despite the government’s argument that more is needed, there are worries domestically over Japan’s rapid expansion of defense capabilities and costs.
“Although the defense policy needs to respond flexibly to changes in the national security environment, a soaring defense budget could cause neighboring countries to misunderstand that Japan is becoming a military power and accelerate an arms race,” the newspaper Tokyo Shimbun said in a recent editorial.
Japan expects Hasina to visit Tokyo next year
Japan expects Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to pay an official visit to Japan in 2022, the year of 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki.
On the auspicious occasion that falls on February 10, 2022, Bangladesh and Japan agreed to take their bilateral relations to the next level.
The Japanese Ambassador highly appreciated the socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and assured of continuing its support to Bangladesh.
This was discussed when Japanese Ambassador Naiko met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam at his office on Thursday.
Also read: Rohingya Repatriation: Japan to encourage Myanmar to take concrete measures
The State Minister and the Ambassador expressed their satisfaction at the ever-expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries and agreed to organize befitting commemorative events both in Dhaka and Tokyo.
Ambassador Naoki expressed that the inauguration of Metro Rail Line 6 in 2022 would be an appropriate event on the 50th anniversary.
The Japanese envoy also highlighted that the Arihajar Special Economic Zone would see Japanese and international investment worth of US$ 1 billion beginning next year.
Shahriar Alam thanked the Japanese government for their continued development assistance to Bangladesh and encouraged more Japanese private investment for the mutual benefits of the two countries.
Alam appreciated the Japanese government for their continued support to the Rohingyas temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh and highlighted that their early repatriation is a must for the sake of stability and security in the region.
He urged Japan to use her influence to persuade Myanmar and the international community to create a conducive environment in Myanmar for the safe and sustainable return of the Rohingyas.
Also read: Dhaka-Tokyo ties growing beyond bilateral front: Japanese Vice Minister
Ambassador Naoki reiterated the commitment of the Japanese government’s continued support for the safe and voluntary repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Rohingya Repatriation: Japan to encourage Myanmar to take concrete measures
Japan has assured Bangladesh that it will encourage Myanmar to take "concrete measures" to resolve the present situation for early start of the repatriation process of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State.
Japan has also assured Bangladesh of extending support to assist Bangladesh's efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi conveyed the message to his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen in a recent letter, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read: Rohingya repatriation: PM seeks strong steps from world leaders
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district and Bhasan Char island.
The Japanese Foreign Minister said his country will continue to work to create an environment conducive to the "safe, voluntary and dignified" repatriation of the Rohingyas.
He said Bangladesh and Japan are tied with a strong bond based on the spirit of confidence, cooperation and mutual benefit as symbolized by the resemblance of two countries national flags since the independence of Bangladesh.
The Japanese Foreign Minister said he would like to further strengthen this traditional friendship on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2022.
Read: Rohingya Repatriation: Int'l community urged to take concrete actions
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr Momen sent a letter to his new Japanese counterpart congratulating him on his appointment as the Foreign Minister of Japan.