Newsletter No. 682
News-Analysis
July 22, 2007

 

JAPANESE DIPLOMATS PROMOTE TIGHTER RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN

MOFA diplomats have been busy of late in promoting tighter relations with Pakistan. The two key diplomats in this regard are Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaharu Kono and Ambassador Seiji Kojima.

Meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz

On the 20th both of these diplomats met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad. Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaharu Kono was on a four-day tour of India and Pakistan from the 17th to the 20th. It seems that Aziz was full of praise for Japan, and stressed the need for more cooperation.

The Pakistani press summarized the prime minister’s message as follows: “Pakistan and Japan need to work together to promote sustainable peace in the region and join hands in redressing the root causes that lead to extremism and terrorism… Pakistan is determined to promote peace and stability in the region. It is only through peace that this region would be able to achieve its true potential of growth… Pakistan could become an anchor of peace in the region by its determination to counter terrorism in all its manifestations.”

None of the reports directly addressed Japan’s position on the recent Lal Masjid issue or the restoration to office of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. When Ambassador Seiji Kojima was recently asked about the Lal Masjid operation by the Pakistani press, he responded: “It is not proper for a diplomat to comment on it.” Despite this caution, it is probably fair to assume that MOFA generally backs General Pervez Musharraf since he is, in their stated opinion, Pakistan’s best hope for “moderation” and “democratization.” Also, when Prime Minister Aziz spoke of Pakistan as “an anchor of peace in the region,” he was no doubt trying to appeal to Tokyo’s much-heralded project of the “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity.”

Finally, we should note that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also addressed the issue of enhanced economic cooperation between his country and Japan. Aziz is said to have noted that Pakistan has “a unique demographic feature of having a population of around 100 million people below the age of 25. The government is working towards making this young population as the biggest asset through provision of education and vocational training. This productive work force could attract more Japanese investment as its amalgamation with Japanese technology could help achieve excellent economic success for both the countries.”

The Third Japan-Pakistan High-Level Economic Policy Dialogue

The main reason why Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaharu Kono came to Pakistan at this time was to lead the Japanese delegation at the third Japan-Pakistan High Level Economic Policy Dialogue on the 20th. This dialogue series was first agreed between then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Pervez Musharraf during the latter’s visit to Japan in March 2002. The first event was held in Islamabad in February 2004 and the second in Tokyo in July 2005. This time the Pakistani side was led by Secretary of Economic Affairs Akram Malik.

The press did not immediately report about any specific agreements or breakthroughs during this latest round of talks.

Ambassador Seiji Kojima Calls for Closer Japan-Pakistan Relations

In a variety of ways Ambassador Seiji Kojima has been calling for closer Japan-Pakistan relations in recent weeks. For example, on the 18th he spoke at the Japanese embassy in Islamabad and praised the role of the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA) in promoting friendship and goodwill between the two countries. In particular he singled out the efforts of PJCA President Syed Ijlal Haider Zaidi and PJCA Senior Vice-President Hafiz S. A. Rehman. These two men were then presented with Japanese government cultural awards.

Ambassador Kojima said in his remarks that, “Both Zaidi and Rehman have acted as a bridge between the people of Japan and Pakistan to enhance their mutual understanding.”

The ambassador also spoke to the Pakistani press about the bilateral relationship two days earlier on the 16th. At that time he stated that Japan “wanted to expand economic, political, cultural, disarmament, and diplomatic ties with Pakistan and was keen to enhance its assistance in government projects to combat poverty” and that the basic orientation of his country was toward “peace and happiness through economic prosperity and democracy.”

One particularly interesting comment he made was that “Japan was willing to expand its assistance to Pakistan to the pre-1998 level.”

So let’s get this straight: Tokyo is perfectly willing to sanction Iran for (maybe, possibly) having a military aspect to their nuclear development program, but in neighboring-country Pakistan a full-scale and entirely extra-legal nuclear arsenal is no impediment to the restoration of “pre-1998” levels of economic aid?

Does somebody out there have any way of credibly defending Japan’s nuclear non-proliferation policy in the region as anything other than rank hypocrisy? Sure, many countries are hypocritical about these issues, but isn’t Japan supposed to have a special and principled position on nuclear weapons? Is there anyone left in Tokyo who remembers the real meaning of the Flame of Peace or Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes? Or are things like that only going to be brought up when diplomatically useful?

Emergency Aid for Flood Victims in Sindh and Balochistan

On June 24th there was a cyclone that hit southern Pakistan -- the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan -- and left more than 250 dead and damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 houses. Earlier this month MOFA responded by announcing an emergency aid package of about US$110,000 which will provide some sleeping pads, plastic sheets, and portable jerry cans.