Newsletter No. 998
News-Analysis
April 29, 2008

 

SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN JAPANESE-ISLAMIC RELATIONS FOR MARCH 2008

There were two major stories in March:

1) Japan recognized the independence of Kosovo.

2) Signed emerged that Japan-Yemen relations were significantly strengthening.

In regard to Kosovo, the decision to recognize was not an easy one since it antagonized both Serbia and Russia. In fact, Serbia withdrew its ambassador from Tokyo in protest to the move (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 943).

Yemen's Minister of Oil and Minerals Khalid Mahfoudh Bahah visited Japan as part of a broader move to strengthen bilateral relations. The key point was that Yemen was beginning to develop oil and gas fields that could form a new horizon for cooperation with Japan (Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 939, 949, and 976).

Aside from the two major stories, there were the following smaller and more subtle events in March 2008:

1) AOC Holdings announced that it would abandon its 90% stake in the South Zeit Bay zone in the Gulf of Suez after drilling a well and finding no oil and gas (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 931).

2) The Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East held the "Investment Promotion Forum 2008" in central Tokyo (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 933).

3) MOFA released a statement on the Gaza conflict "strongly condemning" rocket attacks by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip as well as the "shedding blood of civilians by the Israeli Defense Forces." Later it offered other statements on the Arab-Israeli conflict (Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 935 and 941).

4) Tokyo provided aid to carry out a project to improve ambulance services in Baku (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 936).

5) JICA President Sadako Ogata visited West Asian political leaders including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Acting Israeli Prime Minister Tzipi Livni, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Jordanian Prince Hassan (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 942).

6) The Nippon Oil Corporation, the nation's largest oil distributor, announced that it would absorb the Kyushu Oil Company, the seventh largest, in October (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 944).

7) Japan confirmed an agreement to contribute to UNRWA specifically for the Agency's Emergency Appeal for Northern Lebanon (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 945).

8) The five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq passed quietly in Japan with little discussion or reflection (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 947).

9) Nafie Ali Nafie, a top aide to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, paid a visit to Tokyo and suggested that some kinds of SDF assistance would be welcomed by his government (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 950).

10) Saudi King Abdallah’s proposal to a Japanese delegation to create a dialog between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism received significant press attention, although the scope of the initiative was unclear (Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 951 and 975).

11) Mitsui & Company won a 20% stake in a huge power and desalination project in Qatar (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 953).

12) The Los Angeles-based Council on American-Islamic Relations sponsored five community forums on the theme of “Manzanar Revisited: Civil Rights and Liberties in America” (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 955).

13) It was publicly clarified that Inpex Holdings would reduce its stake in the Kashagan oil field from 8.33% to 7.56% (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 958).

14) MOFA Vice-Minister Osamu Uno visited Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 960 and 961).

15) Two Japanese companies, Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemical entered into a joint project with the state-run Kuwait Petroleum International to build a very large oil refinery in Vietnam (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 961).

16) MOFA Vice-Minister Osamu Uno visited Egypt and Tunisia (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 964).

17) The Libyan Embassy in Tokyo was saddened by the news that Muftah M. H. Faitouri, Libya's former ambassador to Japan, died suddenly of heart attack in Tripoli (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 964).

18) The JBIC announced two large loans for Morocco (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 964).

19) An official state visit to Japan by Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio was announced and then mysteriously cancelled (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 964).

20) The sixth session of the Japan-Tunisia Joint Committee was held in Tokyo (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 964).

21) For the first time, “Arab Day” was celebrated as a major diplomatic event in Tokyo (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 965).

22) The “Splendor of Iran's Pottery” exhibition was held at the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Mitaka City (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 967).

23) Prominent Iranian carpet-weaver Mohammad Mohammadi wove and dedicated a valuable symbolic carpet to the Japanese nation (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 967).

24) Tatsuo Arima, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East, attended the Arab League Summit in Damascus (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 982).