Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of lives due to a fire at the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall on New Bailey Road in Dhaka on 29 February.

In a message sent to the Bangladesh foreign ministry on 1 March, she said, “I am deeply saddened by the devastation caused by the large-scale fire at a shopping-mall in Dhaka last night.

“I send my prayers to the victims and offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the people and the Government of Bangladesh.”

On 29 February, a deadly fire that ripped through the seven-storey structure, housing a number of restaurants, on New Bailey Road, claimed 46 lives and injured many others.