Gulshan cafe attack: Sole Japanese survivor says he hid behind bushes

The only Japanese national to survive the deadly terror attack on Gushan’s Holey Artisan Bakery said he hid in the bushes on the cafe’s lawn.

Tamaoki Watanabe was recovering from gunshot wounds at a hospital in Tokyo, said a report by The Japan Times.  

The 46-year-old was among the 13 hostages rescued after commandos stormed the upscale restaurant, killing the five gunmen, almost 12 hours after the siege began on the night of Jul 1.  

He was in the restaurant with the seven other Japanese men and women who were killed along with nine Italians, an Indian and three Bangladeshis in the assault.

Watanabe, in his first interview with the Japanese police, said he did not see the other members of his party running out of the building.

They were all consultants for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), working in various development projects in Bangladesh.

Watanabe, consultant for transport and urban planning, spoke calmly to the investigators during the hour-long meeting.

The families of the Japanese victims had avoided the media, paying respects to the dead soon after their arrival in Dhaka. The bodies were flown home on Jul 5. 

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam had told bdnews24.com: “In deference to the request from the Japanese families and government, we are not disclosing any information and hope Bangladesh media will respect their sentiments.” 

The Islamic State has claimed the gunmen, who have been identified as Bangladeshi youths, were acting on their behalf. They stormed the restaurant, heavily armed with pistols, rifles, explosives and sword-like weapons, shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

Two officers died when the attackers hurled a grenade at the police firing at them.  

Japan, Bangladesh’s key development partner, assured Dhaka that it will continue its work in the country despite the attack. 

“It is impossible to suppress our anger at the criminals who carried out this act of terrorism,” JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka had said in the statement carrying the message. 

Japan's top foreign funding agency, according to him, would “continue giving top priority to the safety of JICA-related personnel”.