POL101 Group Assignment
Rafid Khandaker 2111686620
Bangladesh-Japan economic relations
Ever since Japan’s recognition of Bangladesh’s statehood in February of 1972, the two nations have
maintained strong economic relations. Both had a similar economic trajectory at the time, with the
Japanese economy having been crippled by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War
2, and Bangladesh inheriting an exploited and underdeveloped economy after its liberation from
Pakistan.
Coming out of a war and decades of systemic deprivation, Bangladesh was in dire need of foreign
support. That’s when Japan, along with other countries as well, lent a hand. Economic relations between
Japan and Bangladesh mainly constituted financial aid given to the latter by the former. Furthermore,
after the 80s, Japanese aid to Bangladesh grew exponentially, becoming one-fifth of all foreign aid
received by Bangladesh.
To this end, it has been stated that Bangladesh-Japan relations are more akin to a patron-client one than
one between development partners. This is to say that the relations are asymmetric, and Japanese
investment in Bangladesh is relatively low and so is trade between two countries. However, they still
have economic interests with each other. For instance, Bangladesh is in need of more Japanese aid as
well as investment, and Japan wants to capture the Bangladeshi market for Japanese goods and
services.
This paints a somewhat grim and one-sided picture of the relationship from the Bangladeshi
perspective, and understandably so. However, things are getting better for Bangladesh. At the beginning
of the 21st century, the proportion of foreign assistance in Bangladesh’s development budget fell below
50% for the first time. Furthermore, Japan’s Big-B plan seems to be very promising for Bangladesh’s
economic growth. The plan intends to reduce poverty and increase development in Bangladesh mainly
through private investment and has identified three pillars integral to achieving these goals: 1. Industry
and trade, 2. Energy, 3. Economic Connectivity.
The main ways the Big-B initiative aims to drive economic growth in Bangladesh is through connectivity,
infrastructure and investments in various industries, and it plans to go beyond Dhaka, Chittagong and
Cox’s Bazar. Another of its objectives is to enhance ties between Bangladesh and other South Asian
countries such as Bhutan, Nepal and Northeastern India in order to transform the region into a major
economic power.
Bangladesh was chosen for this plan due to its geographic importance, and the plan deems Bangladesh
to be a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, with its access to the Bay of Bengal. This is also
highly beneficial to Japan as it opens up both South Asian and Southeast Asian markets to Japanese
businesses.
Therefore, although so far Bangladesh-Japan relations have been merely a charitable one, the future
looks brighter as both nations are gearing up to work together as partners, with economic back-andforth between each other. If this alliance proves fruitful in the future, Bangladesh can enjoy significant
economic growth and tighter international relations with other Asian countries, and it will be much less
reliant on foreign assistance to hold its economy afloat.