Newsletter No. 496
News-Analysis
January 26, 2007

 

SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN JAPANESE-ISLAMIC RELATIONS FOR DECEMBER 2006

There was only one major story in December:

1) The ASDF mission in Kuwait and Iraq was extended through July 2007.

The Abe Administration has put a priority on the US-Japan alliance, which they still interpret as meaning good relations with the White House. The decision to extend the ASDF mission even as the political position of the Bush Administration on Iraq was collapsing showed Tokyo’s enduring commitment to the failing US policies in the Persian Gulf. Some Japanese newspapers mildly criticized this policy.

Aside from that major story, the following smaller and more subtle events took place in December:

1) National security adviser Yuriko Koike paid a visit to Libya, Bahrain, and Qatar; but there were apparently no major developments in connection with these visits.

2) King Abdallah of Jordan visited Tokyo, but again there were no reports of any special agreements.

3) There were some indications that Tokyo would begin taking its relations with Persian Gulf countries more seriously, but nothing concrete emerged.

4) A case came to light in which a Japanese factory badly mistreated a Muslim worker.

5) Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma tried to assert that Tokyo did not support the Iraq War, but quickly reversed himself.

6) Japan and Pakistan began talks about new financial aid packages and a new tax treaty.

7) Tokyo offered support for a UNSC resolution punishing Iran for its nuclear activities.

8) A Moroccan news agency launched a Japanese-language news service on the internet.

9) Tokyo offered lukewarm support for the execution of Saddam Husain.