Newsletter No. 1411
News-Analysis
July 12, 2009

 

CELEBRATING TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF JAPAN-BRUNEI DIPLOMATIC TIES

Photo: Princess Masna, Japanese Ambassador, and Cabinet Ministers
Source: Jason Leong

The 25th Anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Brunei diplomatic relations was commemorated with a luncheon held at Sheraton Utama Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan at the beginning of this month. The chief guest from the Brunei side was Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Acting Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The leading Japanese guests at the luncheon were Ambassador to ASEAN Yoshinori Katori and Ambassador to Brunei Itsuo Hashimoto.

During the event, Ambassador Hashimoto gave a speech that included the following passage: “Japan is the biggest market for Brunei’s exports, and we, Japan, import more than 10% of our total LNG consumed in Japan from Brunei. The LNG trade started in 1972 with strong initiative by both countries, based on the Japan-Brunei mutual friendship and economic necessity. It has since solidified mutual trust and friendship between our two countries for more than thirty years, constituting a strong backbone of the Japan-Brunei relations. The Methanol project, which is funded 75% by Japan and 25% by Brunei and will begin operations soon, is another good example of such cooperation. As the Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam and as a Japanese citizen, I wish that such economic relations and our friendly and cooperative relations in total will continue and further develop towards the future.”

It was also noted that the total value of import-export relations between Japan and Brunei has reached US$14.8 billion.

MINISTERIAL VISITS TO TOKYO

Nearly a year has passed since our last newsletter on Brunei, but in fact there have been several high-level visitors to Tokyo from Bandar Seri Begawan. These visits, however, have been only lightly treated by the media, and it is not always easy to judge their significance.

At any rate, almost a year ago in late July 2008, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Prince Mohamed Bolkiah attended the Inaugural Meeting of the Joint Committee under the Brunei-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (BJEPA). An announcement before Bolkiah’s visit stated that he was scheduled to meet with Emperor Akihito and then-Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, but the media did not follow-up afterwards.

In a similar fashion, the same Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Prince Mohamed Bolkiah came again to Tokyo this past January. A Japanese-language report from MOFA said that he met with Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone for twenty minutes. The main purpose of this visit seems to have been to sign a double taxation agreement to further facilitate bilateral investment.

The most recent visitor was Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd.) Dato Seri Pahlawan Awg Hj Mohammad bin Hj Daud. He came to Japan in April to participate in the 3rd Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable Meeting.

NEWS BRIEFS

Methanol Project: The Japan-Brunei partnership in a methanol project has been profiled in Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 609, 858, and 1013. The latest report on this project—from the Borneo Bulletin in March—stated that methanol produced in Brunei would be ready for export mainly to Japan in less than one year; that is, early 2010.

Handicrafts: In June, two Japanese experts visited Brunei to discuss the development of Brunei’s handicraft products for the Japanese market through the transfer of design knowledge. Another Japanese on a similar mission toured Brunei in January.

Japanese Pottery Exhibition: In April, the Brunei Museum hosted a Japanese pottery exhibition called “Japanese Pottery: The Rising Generation from Traditional Japanese Kilns” in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brunei and Japan. The exhibition featured about seventy items, all created in the last ten years or so. The most expensive item in the collection was priced at around US$18,000.

Heart of Borneo Project: Last July, a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral technical cooperation was signed between Brunei’s Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and Japan’s National Institute of Technology and Evaluation under framework of the Heart of Borneo project. Brunei’s Heart of Borneo initiative is an environmental project intended to conserve rainforests.

Japanese Medical Students in Brunei: Last July, nine Japanese medical students from Kagawa University arrived in Brunei for the “International Summer Medical School 2008,” an inter-institutional summer program. This was part of an exchange program between Kagawa University and Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Japanese Embassy Awards: During the luncheon noted in the opening section of this newsletter, Ambassador Itsuo Hashimoto presented awards to two Bruneians and three Japanese for their contribution to further strengthening the Japan-Brunei diplomatic relations.

New Ambassador in Tokyo: In February, a new Bruneian ambassador was accredited in Tokyo. We know nothing about the man except his name: Mohammad Alias bin Serbini.