Dhaka, Oct. 29 -- Bangladesh's national carrier has flown Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his entourage out of Japan after a five-hour delay caused by a mechanical fault.

The flight departed Narita at 10:45pm local time on Thursday, heading for Dhaka.

Tarique and his delegation had been scheduled to leave at around 6pm after completing a four-day visit to Japan.

The aircraft could not take off as planned because of a technical problem.

The fault was fixed later in the evening, and the aircraft was ready for departure at around 10:15pm local time, or 7:15pm Bangladesh time.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said the delay was caused by the mechanical fault.

Once the problem was resolved, the prime minister ...