Port investment in Bangladesh
Japanese investment in a new deep-water port at Matarbarhi Island on the southeast coast of Bangladesh highlights increasing geo-political rivalry fuelled by the United States and its allies as part of Washington’s “pivot to Asia.” The $US3.66 billion project cuts across a long-standing Chinese offer to build deep-water port facilities at Sonadia, only 25 kilometres from Matarbarhi.
The Japanese investment, which also includes a 1,200-megawatt power plant, was confirmed last month by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). China has said that it was not interested in bidding for the Matarbarhi port and the Sonadia port project looks increasingly unlikely.
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Japan scraps 2020 Olympic stadium design
The Japanese government has decided to scrap its controversial design for the stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would “start over from zero”.
The original design, by British architect Zaha Hadid, had come under criticism as estimated building costs almost doubled, reaching $2bn (£1.3bn)
[caption id="attachment_18229" align="alignright" width="624"] An artist's impression of the original stadium design[/caption]
Mr Abe says the new stadium will...
Japan’s security bills to break regional order: Experts
Bangladeshi experts has said that Japan’s security bills will bring new complications into global and regional politics as the country seeks to play an aggressive role to counter the existing regional order.
Their comments came after Japan’s ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rammed through the controversial security bills that will expand the role of the country’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in the all-powerful lower house of the nation’s Diet amid strong public opposition.
The bills also show that Japan eyes China’s existing ...
Japanese firms expanding their reach in South Asia
Bangladesh, the world’s eighth most populous country with approximately 158 million people, is witnessing an economic growth rate surpassing five percent for the past ten years.
The economy is expected to continue to grow and present many business opportunities.
In one of the office buildings at Gulshan crossing in central Dhaka, the work is on for construction of a new branch office for Toshiba, the first Japanese electronics company to have a branch in Bangladesh.
Sayaka Kanagawa, who joined Toshiba in 2008, has...
1,000 technical interns to receive trainings in Japan
About 1,000 Bangladeshi technical interns are set to receive trainings in Japan under an apprenticeship and entrepreneurship training programme as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries were signed on Wednesday.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and Executive Chairman of IM Japan Kyoei Yanagisawa signed the MoU at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban here on Wednesday.
Director General Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training Begum Shamsun Nahar and senior executive director of the ...