Japan's contribution to Bangladesh: Aspirations for inclusive development and regional cooperation

This study underlines the gaps, possible prospects, and challenges of Japan's contribution to Bangladesh for inclusive development and regional cooperation. Japan's contribution has been favourably significant in considering the future dynamics of inclusive development and regional cooperation as an area of study. Since its independence in 1972, Japan has been Bangladesh's number one bilateral development partner. The amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) exceeds all previous records and possibly ensures peace, stability, and development in Bangladesh. Japan contributed to the development policy formulation in Bangladesh. Moreover, this research attempts to identify Bangladesh's development pathways to avoid drawbacks and ensure the development trends through regional cooperation. This study was developed based on regional integration policy theory to explain regional integration and development relations. Japan's contribution as an area of study might transform the Japanese experience to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh, as there is an existing knowledge gap regarding the impact of Japan's assistance on Bangladesh's development and nation-building. The objective of this study is to fill the gap. The study follows a qualitative research methodology and uses interviews, document analysis, and archival research as data collection methods. From the findings, it can be seen that Japan's assistance is tremendously helping Bangladesh's development and nation-building process. Finally, this study speculates a new model for inclusive development of Bangladesh based on the Japanese experiences to strengthen regional cooperation.