Newsletter No. 982
News-Analysis
April 19, 2008

 

ARAB-ISRAELI PEACE: TOKYO FINDS ITS WAY BACK TO THE QUIET MIDDLE

Tokyo released a statement yesterday on the Arab-Israel issue. Although there was an attack at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal that killed two Israeli civilians, it usually takes much bloodier or dramatic events to wrest an official statement out of the Foreign Ministry. But the statement itself, which is provided in the appendix below, is pretty even-handed compared to what was standard in the late Koizumi and Abe eras. Tokyo condemned both Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli military operations. This seems to confirm that Japanese diplomats are pulling back now from the more partisan positions they had previously been drifting towards.

Diplomatic Moves

The Japanese political scene has been much more preoccupied with domestic affairs since January. Most politicians have their attentions focused on the contest over matters like the gasoline tax and the pension problem. Observing Japan blogger Tobias Harris was correct to recently note that “for the foreseeable future Mr. Fukuda and his successors will be restricted in their freedom of action in foreign policy. As long as the domestic agenda is crowded and the people insecure about the soundness of public institutions, prime ministers will be penalized for paying too much attention to matters beyond Japan's borders.” Unexpected events might force certain revisions to that observation, but by and large Harris is correct that foreign policy in general is currently on Tokyo’s backburner.

We are thus not hearing about any top-level visits in the works other than TICAD IV and the Toyako Summit, but at a lower level in the bureaucracy it is business as usual.

Dr. Tatsuo Arima, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East, attended the Arab League Summit in Damascus on March 29th and 30th as an observer representing Japan. After that, he visited Israel and the United States. Regrettably, the media didn’t give us any details.

In Jerusalem, Deputy Director-General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau Shinsuke Sugiyama headed Japan’s delegation to the fourth technical-level meeting for the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” on March 31st and April 1st. A MOFA statement informed us that at the meeting the Japanese delegation spoke about the feasibility study for the project, including the Agro-Industrial Park. The Jordanian side spoke about the current status of Damiya (Prince Mohammad) Bridge reconstruction issue.

Israeli Embassy Protests METI “Blacklist”

The Israeli media reported some weeks ago that the Embassy of Israel in Tokyo has been protesting to the Japanese government about what it perceives to be a “blacklist” of certain Israeli companies managed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The report says that Israeli diplomat Amiram Halevy met the deputy director of the supervision department of METI more than a year ago to ask that these Israeli companies be taken off the list, which the Israeli embassy regards as a blacklist. Among the companies on the list are Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel Military Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Atomic Energy Committee, and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center.

METI apparently denied that their list was a “blacklist” by explaining: “The list was not an embargo, but a list of various companies with which Japanese exporters are requested by the authorities to make a risk assessment when exporting to those companies. If the exporters believe that there is no risk that their goods will be used by defense companies for military purposes or for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, they may export to these companies with no need for a permit.”

It seems that the Israeli side was not entirely satisfied with that response, and that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried raised the issue when he met with Japanese Vice Defense Minister Akinori Eto during his late February visit to Tokyo.

Program for Israeli and Palestinian Students in Hiroshima

About a week ago, a group of Jewish and Palestinian students traveled to Hiroshima to learn about the Japanese experience in the immediate wake of World War II. The program seems to have been organized by the Interreligious Coordination Council in Israel, an organization that promotes dialogue and reconciliation between Arabs and Jews.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Avigail Moshe, the organization’s director of youth and young adult programs, as saying, “Visiting Japan is an opportunity for our students to take on the role of observer and learn about a narrative with which we have no involvement. By becoming detached observers, we can unearth truths that might not have been evident while we were mired in our own personal narratives… I met with a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. His story sounded like the same human story I've heard so many times here -- from victims of the Holocaust, terror victims, and from the Palestinian side, of people who were here in 1948. I'm not comparing them to each other, but from a humanist point of view, it's a similar story of pain.”

An Israeli Arab student stated on the eve of the trip: “I want to learn about Japan, but I don't know what it will change. Change can only begin with me, individually, and slowly it will influence others around me. But for the meantime, we'll just have to see.”

Japanese National Injured in the West Bank

On January 25th, a Japanese translator named Kaoru Kishida was struck by an Israeli military rubber bullet while watching a demonstration against Israel's construction of a West Bank separation barrier at Bilin. Kishida lost sight in his left eye and the damage may be permanent.

APPENDIX

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Current Situation of Israel and the Palestinian Territories
April 18, 2008

The Government of Japan is deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the southern part of Israel again. Japan strongly deplores the fact that the Israeli and Palestinian civilians are falling victim to the violence, and expresses its deepest condolences to their bereaved families.

The Government of Japan condemns the Palestinian militants’ rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip and their attack at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal which caused the death of Israeli civilians. Those attacks inflict damages on the daily lives of the residents in the Gaza Strip as well. Japan also condemns the Israeli military operations that have been causing the deaths and injuries of many civilians. The Government of Japan calls on the Palestinian militants to immediately halt the attacks, and on the Israeli government to exercise its utmost self-restraint to avoid any other damage on civilians as well as further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in order not to undermine the current peace process.

Despite the difficult circumstances, the Government of Japan will continue supporting, to the greatest extent possible, the efforts towards the promotion of the Middle East Peace Process. The Government of Japan urges both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides to take necessary measures which will prevent the deterioration of the situation and to continue the peace negotiations towards the achievement of the peace.