Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Japan has expressed outrage over the killing of its citizen, Hoshi Kunio, and asked the Bangladesh government for a full and fair probe into his murder.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, came up with the demand at a press briefing held in Tokyo on Monday, according to media reports.
“The Japanese government was seeking a full and fair investigation into the murder to trace the real killers and bring them under justice,” said Yoshihide Suga. Hoshi Kunio, 66, was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Rangpur on Saturday, just five days into the killing of an Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella in the capital’s Gulshan diplomatic zone.
Reacting sharply over the incident, the top Japanese government official said, “Such a dastardly act should never be repeated. I feel outraged by such an act”.
“The matter needs proper investigation. So, I urge the government of Bangladesh to investigate every aspect of the killing and to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible,” he said.
Yoshihide Suga also extended condolences to Hoshi’s family and said the Japanese government was saddened by his death.
Earlier on Sunday, Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Masato Watanabe met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and sought security for their nationals in Bangladesh.
The Home Minister assured the ambassador of providing security for them.
Meanwhile, a three-member Japanese team is likely to visit in Dhaka to convey their concern about the killing of Hoshi Kunio to the Bangladesh government officially.
The Japanese team is expected to arrive in Dhaka in a day or two. During their visit, they will also meet senior Bangladeshi officials to look into the murder of their citizen, diplomatic sources said.
After the killing of Hoshi Kunio, the Islamic State group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi postings online.
The report could not be independently confirmed. The Islamic State (IS) also claimed responsibility for the killing of an Italian aid worker last week in Dhaka.
The government of Bangladesh, however, rejected the claims saying that there is no IS in the country. It also said that these are incidents for creating instability in the country.
