Japanese PM's Assam Visit Cancellation Linked to Traffic Congestion by Some Media Outlets

While Japanese government sources have indicated that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ‘s proposed visit to Assam was dropped due to scheduling and time constraints, a section of the media and some political figures have sought to link the cancellation to traffic congestion in Guwahati caused by the repainting of singer Zubeen Garg’s graffiti at Ganeshguri. The controversy began after authorities painted over a graffiti portrait of Zubeen Garg beneath the Ganeshguri flyover as part of a beautification drive ahead of the proposed visit. The move sparked widespread outrage among the singer’s family, supporters, and fans. Following the backlash, artist Marshall Baruah and his associates returned to repaint the artwork at the same location. A large crowd of fans gathered at the venue on Thursday, resulting in significant traffic congestion in the area. Soon after reports emerged that the Japanese Prime Minister would not be visiting Assam, Minister Pijush Hazarika appeared to blame those involved in the graffiti episode. Expressing disappointment over the cancellation, he alleged that “anarchic forces” were working against Assam’s development. “Anarchic forces do not want Assam’s development. It is extremely unfortunate,” Hazarika said, in what many interpreted as a veiled reference to the artist and Zubeen Garg’s supporters . Several BJP leaders and sections of the media went further, suggesting that the Prime Minister’s visit had been cancelled due to security concerns arising from the traffic disruption linked to the graffiti repainting. However, no official statement from either the Government of India or the Government of Japan has supported such claims. In fact, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself acknowledged that the state government had not been informed of the precise reason behind the cancellation. “I can only know the exact reason for the cancellation once I visit Delhi and meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar,” the Chief Minister said, adding that he did not wish to comment further without complete information. He further informed the media that India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had conveyed that, owing to unavoidable reasons, the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit would now be confined to New Delhi. “Yesterday night, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri informed our Chief Secretary that owing to unavoidable reasons, the Prime Minister of Japan will not come to Assam this time. The visit will now be confined to New Delhi only. We have also been assured that the proposed investment summit will be held on a mutually agreed date,” Sarma said. Meanwhile, Japanese media reports suggested that the proposed India-Japan summit venue may be shifted from Guwahati to New Delhi because of the Prime Minister’s packed parliamentary schedule and limited travel time. According to these reports, Takaichi’s visit to India is expected to be brief, making travel to and from a regional city difficult within the available timeframe. The explanation contrasts sharply with the narrative circulated by some political figures and media outlets in Assam, who attempted to connect the cancellation to the Ganeshguri incident without producing any official evidence. Observers have also pointed out that when then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled visit to Guwahati was cancelled in 2019 amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, security concerns were explicitly cited as the reason. In the present case, neither New Delhi nor Tokyo has mentioned any security issue. Despite the absence of any official confirmation, sections of the media continued to push the theory that traffic congestion caused by the graffiti repainting had jeopardised the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit — a claim critics describe as politically motivated and unsupported by facts. Senior journalist Rajib Mahanta questioned the basis of the allegations in a Facebook post. “The Chief Minister himself said he does not know the exact reason for the cancellation. Then who supplied the information that the visit was cancelled because Japanese officials were stuck in traffic caused by the repainting of Zubeen’s graffiti?” Mahanta wrote. He noted that national and international media reports had attributed the decision to scheduling constraints and parliamentary commitments rather than any law-and-order issue in Assam. “Did any responsible authority announce that Japan’s Prime Minister cancelled the visit because of security concerns? The possibility of a visit and a confirmed visit are not the same thing. Yet Zubeen Garg is once again being made a convenient scapegoat,” he said. Journalist Jitumoni Bora also criticised attempts to drag the singer into the controversy. “Once again, Zubeen Garg has been unfairly blamed. Reports in leading national media clearly state that the visit was dropped because of an extremely tight schedule. Yet some people are trying to manufacture a controversy around Zubeen and the Ganeshguri traffic congestion,” Bora said. With neither the Government of India nor the Government of Japan citing security concerns, questions continue to be raised about why an unverified narrative linking the cancellation to Zubeen Garg’s supporters was amplified so aggressively in certain quarters. This version is sharper, removes repetition, strengthens the factual contrast, and directly highlights the absence of evidence behind the narrative without sounding overtly partisan.