Japan plans bulletproof cars for safety of aid workers in Bangladesh

A Japanese foreign ministry panel has suggested a series of safety measures for its aid workers abroad that include providing bulletproof cars.

The panel, formed after the terrorist attack in Dhaka that killed seven JICA consultants, in its interim report has also advised the government to call on foreign governments to strengthen the safety measures for its nationals.
 
Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Seiji Kihara said, at a meeting of the panel on Tuesday at which he presented the report to Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Japanese people can also be the target of terrorism.
 
“We need to renew our thinking that safety does not come without costs,” he was quoted as saying in a Japan Today report.
 
Apart from Dhaka, last month a vehicle carrying Japanese aid workers travelling in a bulletproof vehicle in conflict-ravaged South Sudan came under gunfire. 
 
Japanese diplomats were airlifted out of the country’s capital due to safety concerns.
 
Kishida said he expected concrete and effective measures to be worked out as “Japan needs to continue offering support to developing countries, including Bangladesh”.
 
Other measures suggested include strengthening intelligence-gathering capabilities and conducting emergency communication drills.
 
A final report will be compiled by the ministry later in the month, ministry officials said.