Bangladesh

22 September 2025
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)
Dye-coloured water is discharged directly into the Buriganga River in Dhaka in March 2023. Residents and environmental activists say the booming garment industry is a major contributor to the ecological decline of the river.
Opinion

Bangladesh is a climate test case for the future of fashion

Besides decarbonization pledges and targets, brands must seriously work with manufacturers

1 September 2025
Efforts by the government to grow Bangladesh's tax-to-gross domestic product ratio have not paid off, with the country's vast informal economy cited as one factor.
Economy

Bangladesh's weak tax revenue raises foreign debt trap concerns

Falling government income is also affecting health and education spending

21 August 2025
Feeling upbeat due to its relatively advantageous U.S. tariff position, the Bangladeshi government has set a goods export growth target of 16.5% for the fiscal year through June 30, 2026.
Trump tariffs

Bangladesh garment makers gain orders on new US tariff

Buyers shift from India and China, but risk of higher retail prices clouds outlook

20 August 2025
People celebrate the  anniversary of the protests that ousted Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina outside the parliament building in Dhaka on Aug. 5.
Opinion

A year after Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh is at a crossroads

Despite economic progress, government's political honeymoon is over

14 August 2025
Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the government of Bangladesh, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January: Yunus will seek new elections in February 2026.
Politics

Bangladesh interim leader Yunus to seek elections in February

Thousands join rallies, concerts, prayer sessions a year after Hasina's ouster

6 August 2025
Economists warn that the spread of extortion in Bangladesh hurts the economy by disrupting supply chains, pushing up costs and keeping inflation high.
Crime

Bangladesh extortion crisis hits businesses and fuels inflation

Weak law and order sees various political groups turn to shakedowns

5 August 2025
Millions of Bangladeshi women and men work in factories making clothing for export: U.S. President Donald Trump's insistence on raising import tariffs has threatened to put the livelihoods of many of them in jeopardy. (Photo by Rajib Dhar)
Big in Asia

Bangladesh garment workers await end of Trump tariff tumult

Factories hit hard by rate uncertainty due to high dependence on US exports

2 August 2025
Mohammad Shamsu, a Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant, works as a ragpicker in India's capital, New Delhi. He lives in fear of deportation and detention amid the ongoing crackdown against Bengali Muslim migrants. (Photo by Quratulain Rehbar)
Politics

Bengali-speaking Muslims in India fear detention, deportation

Migrants from western state treated as illegal aliens, deported to Bangladesh

24 July 2025
Firefighters and army members work next to the wreckage of an air force training aircraft after it crashed into Milestone College campus in Dhaka on July 21.
Society

At least 19 killed as Bangladesh air force plane crashes into college campus

More than 50 people including children hospitalized with burns

21 July 2025
Supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with police in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, on July 16.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladeshi forces clash with Hasina's supporters, leaving 4 dead

Violence comes as new party marches to commemorate last year's uprising

17 July 2025
Japanese companies are recruiting workers for a wide range of jobs, from manufacturing to services. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Japan immigration

Japan looks beyond ASEAN to Uzbekistan, Bangladesh for more workers

Companies pivot to South and Central Asia as influx from Vietnam slows

17 July 2025
Protesters against former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gather at a university in Dhaka on Aug. 13, 2024. In the wake of last year's revolution, reforms have stalled amid disagreements between political parties.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh's revolutionaries await real change 1 year on

Political parties yet to reach consensus on constitutional reform and election

16 July 2025
Bangladeshi business leaders and analysts expect Washington's proposed 35% tariff to severely affect the country's vital garment industry. 
Trump tariffs

Bangladesh's lack of leverage sees it brace for higher US tariffs

Limited trade leaves Dhaka with weak hand, risking competitiveness against Vietnam

10 July 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump released the first batch of letters on July 7 informing countries of the tariff rates their exports to the U.S. will face, starting Aug. 1.
Trump tariffs

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia

Myanmar and Laos see 40% rate, among slew of levies to take effect Aug. 1

8 July 2025
Kamal Ahmad, founder of the Asian University for Women, speaks about his commitment to women's education. (Photo by Yurika Yoneda)
Education

Asian University for Women founder envisions Afghan 'brain bank'

Education is tool 'for fighting inequality and injustice,' says Kamal Ahmad

6 July 2025
A defaced mural of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vandalised by protesters the day after her resignation in August 2024. 
Politics

Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets jail term for contempt of court

ICT's six-month sentence is first for former leader facing multiple cases

2 July 2025
Women wait for checkups at a health care center on May 26 at a camp Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Photo by Valeria Mongelli)
Politics

US aid cuts leave Rohingya in Bangladesh vulnerable to hepatitis C

Groups struggle to meet refugee health care needs in face of shortfall

18 June 2025
Bangladesh has responded to alleged disinformation from India with the CA Press Wing Facts page on Facebook. (Screenshot from CA Press Wing Facts' Facebook page) 
International relations

Bangladesh looks to China for help in India disinformation fight

Beijing has offered to train officials as false claims spread

17 June 2025
In an exclusive interview with Nikkei, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus took a resolute stance on his role in reforming his country and steering it to its next election: "Whatever it is you want to change, people resist." (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
Big in Asia

Bangladesh's Yunus walks reform tightrope in eye of trade, domestic storms

Interim leader faces Trump tariffs, calls for early election, wage protests

7 June 2025
Garment workers at a factory in Bangladesh: The ready-made garments sector accounts for about 80% of the country's exports and provides employment to millions of people.
Trade war

Bangladesh clothes sector hit by trade barriers, internal turmoil

Double-digit growth threatened by strikes, U.S. duties and India tensions

30 May 2025
Watami Chairman Miki Watanabe, standing left, and Bangladesh government representatives at a memorandum signing on Thursday. (Photo by Kiko Inafuku)
Food & Beverage

Japan restaurant group to train workers in Bangladesh to secure labor

Watami aims to bring 3,000 trainees a year to Japan, some for its eateries

30 May 2025
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on May 29. The leader intends to use money his predecessor either sent abroad or stashed away domestically to provide his nation with education and healthcare opportunities. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Interview

Bangladesh offers to buy more US cotton and oil, Yunus says

Government to use $12bn in Hasina cash to create sovereign wealth funds

29 May 2025
Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, delivers a keynote speech during Nikkei's Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on May 29. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)
The Future of Asia 2025

Bangladesh's Yunus aims to bridge South Asia and ASEAN

Interim leader calls for 'new kind of economy' at Nikkei conference

29 May 2025
Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, left, and a member of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. The refugees are often kidnapped by different Myanmar forces. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)
International relations

Bangladesh engages with Myanmar's Arakan Army insurgents

Dhaka says it has no choice, given group's control of Rakhine state at its border

16 May 2025
A female garment worker checks sewing quality at a factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 9, 2025.
Opinion

Bangladesh shows how Trump tariffs can derail developing economies

Decades-old formula for manufacturing-led prosperity loses its potency

14 May 2025
China is welcoming more Bangladeshi patients by inaugurating new flights and designating four hospitals for their use.
Health Care

China pours money into Bangladeshi health care as ties warm

Beijing opens doors to medical tourists amid souring of Dhaka-New Delhi relations

5 May 2025
A money vendor counts notes at his stall in Dhaka.
Economy

Bangladesh enjoys remittance blessing amid post-Hasina woe

New government policies allow banks to reestablish trusted services

25 April 2025
Tensions between the governments of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Bangladeshi interim leader Muhammad Yunus are overshadowing the textile and clothing industry that powers Bangladesh's economy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Tensions mount as India revokes transshipment access for Bangladesh exports

New Delhi ends arrangement that allowed neighbor to send cargo via its airports

21 April 2025
Garment workers make clothing in the sewing section of a factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 9, 2025. 
Opinion

Why Bangladesh deserves a seat at ASEAN's table

Nation's post-crisis leadership offers a rare opportunity for Southeast Asia

20 April 2025