Only Japanese men allowed back to Bangladesh after Gulshan attack

Finance minister AMA Muhith said that Japan, especially Jica, still holds concerns about the safety and security of its employees following the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, and hence the country is still restricting the entry of Japanese women to Bangladesh. The minister made the comment following a meeting with Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) President Shinichi Kitaoka at the annual conference of the Asian Development Bank on Thursday. “Jica employees are now returning to Bangladesh and working in various projects, but only the men. Women are yet to be permitted to return,” the finance minister said. Jica employees were visiting Bangladesh to conduct a feasibility study for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project during the militant attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1 last year. Of the victims killed in the attack, seven were Japanese nationals, most of whom were metro rail consultants.