Speaking to reporters, the Japanese ambassador said, “You may be surprised to hear that the Japanese embassy in Dhaka issued a statement expressing concern shortly after the December 2016 elections. The main concern there was election violence. It is imperative that every citizen be able to exercise his or her right to vote freely. In this situation, there is no opportunity to underestimate the role of the media.
Ito Naoki said, “Japan has said in discussions with government representatives that it wants to see relatively good and free and fair elections in Bangladesh. We will continue to raise the issue of our expectations for free and fair elections with the concerned people of the government.
The Ambassador of Japan also emphasized on the role of the media in the conduct of free and fair elections. He said it was important for the media to be able to work independently in the interest of holding good elections. How the aspirations of the people can be reflected in the media is important.
Referring to the media-related law in Bangladesh, Ito Naoki said that there is a debate going on among the journalists about the Digital Security Act at the moment. So from now until the election, the media workers should have the opportunity to work freely.
AKM Moin Uddin, General Secretary of the organization gave a welcome speech at the function conducted by Rezaul Karim, President of DICAB.
