Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has described Japan as a time-tested friend of Bangladesh, saying the country has very close to her heart being few countries who early recognised Bangladesh within two months of achieving its independence.

"Japan is our trusted development partner. Bangladesh has received steadfast support for its development and has remained the recipient of the largest amount of official development assistance from Japan since our independence," she said.

The prime minister said this in an article headlined "Japan holds special place in our hearts" written by Sheikh Hasina was published in the country's largest and oldest English daily newspaper The Japan Times on 25 April, on the second day of her four-day official visit to Tokyo.
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She wrote, "I'm again in Tokyo to embolden the existing bilateral ties between my country, Bangladesh, and Japan as our countries celebrate the 51st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations."

"I express my gratitude to The Majesties Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako and my thanks to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the invitation. I also pay homage to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was a great friend of Bangladesh," she said.

The Premier said Japan was among those few countries that gave early recognition to Bangladesh on 10 February 1972, less than two months after it achieved independence.

Even during our liberation war in 1971, she writes that Japan provided much-needed support and assistance, which we have never forgotten nor shall ever forget, she said, adding that most unforgettable was the charitable gesture of Japanese schoolchildren who saved and donated their tiffin (snack) money to help victims of the cyclone and the war that ravaged our country.

"Since then, Japan has remained our time-tested friend. Japan is a country very close to my heart, just as it is to my family and our people," she said.

"My sister Sheikh Rehana is especially attached to Japan as she accompanied our father, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and our youngest brother, Sheikh Russel, on their first visit to Japan in October 1973," she said.

She said alongside cherishing her father's legacy of having a soft spot for Japan, she has great respect for its miraculous development.

"Therefore, time and again, I come to Japan to learn from its invaluable experiences. These encourage me to apply and devote myself in body and spirit to building Bangladesh in the image of this great country. And, as I now feel that our two countries' relations have been cemented to an enviable level, I believe it is time to move on from our comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership," she said.

The premier said her father was captivated by the country's development and wanted to follow Japan as a model.

"He was also inspired by the design of the Japanese flag. Both flags are rectangular with red circles at the centre against backgrounds of bottle green for Bangladesh and white for Japan," she said.

Sheikh Hasina continued: "On their return, they spoke frequently of their memorable experiences in Japan. Those remain in our memory, haunting us even more so now as tragically, all our family members other than Rehana and myself, were brutally assassinated just 22 months after that historic visit."