Newsletter No. 583
News-Analysis
April 21, 2007

 

We have another couple of stories on Japan-Iraq relations.

INPEX PREPARES BID FOR NORTHERN IRAQI OIL FIELD

In October 2004 a Canadian oil company called Ivanhoe Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to evaluate the Qaiyarah Oil Field in northern Iraq. The oil field is described as being “near but not in the largely autonomous Kurdistan region.”

On the 19th it was announced that Inpex would be forming a tie-up with Ivanhoe Energy over this project. Inpex will be immediately paying US$9 million to Ivanhoe to cover their share of past costs. When the deal is complete, Ivanhoe will hold a majority stake, and Inpex will have a “substantial” share. The Iraqi oil ministry has already signaled approval for this arrangement.

Ivanhoe Energy Co-Chairman Robert Abboud said in an interview that, “This partnership makes a very credible bidding applicant from the standpoint of experience, knowledge and financial capabilities.”

Analysis -- Personally, my mind boggles at optimism that Japanese officials continue to evidence toward the immediate future in Iraq. I question whether they should be getting involved in the solidly Shia south of the Iraq, but this oil deal simply amazes me. The oil field is said to be “near but not in the largely autonomous Kurdistan region.” Presumably, that means that it is actually in an Arab Sunni region. If there is any portion of Iraq where Tokyo’s policies have earned them less credit than in the Arab Sunni territories, I don’t know where it is -- I mean, what are they thinking here? What do they really think is going to happen in Iraq in the next few years?

A JAPANESE CRITIC OF TOKYO’S IRAQ WAR POLICY

The Asahi Shinbun ran another opinion piece on the Iraq War this week. The author was Yuzuru Nakagawa, a professor of journalism at Tezukayama Gakuin University in Osaka. His conclusion ran as follows:

“As the saying goes, where might is master, justice is servant. But it doesn't mean we should sit back and do nothing about the situation. If we do, the world would become distorted. This lack of reason reminds us of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's irrational statement: ‘Just because we cannot find Saddam Hussein, it doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Therefore, we cannot say that there are no weapons of mass destruction.’ The situation is even having a serious impact on education. When a senior high school textbook to be introduced this spring stated that the Iraq war was ‘a first strike’ by the United States, the publisher was ordered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to rewrite the entry. This is because ‘first strike means an act of aggression banned by international law,’ according to the ministry. It shows that as long as the government stands by the argument that starting the Iraq war was just, it has no choice but to stick to it by covering up lies with lies. Anyone who breaks the law must be punished. This is common sense. Some people may see the way Americans are struggling to get out of the Iraqi situation, which has turned into a quagmire, as ‘punishment.’ As long as the status quo continues, it is unlikely that the United States would win Iraqi people's understanding. Why don't Washington and Tokyo, which has been supporting Washington, both admit, albeit belatedly, that starting the Iraq war was a grave mistake? It is true that such an admission involves major political difficulties. But once they overcome the difficulties, a new path awaits them.”