Newsletter No. 11
June 11, 2005

 

QATARI EMIR VISITS TOKYO

A number of news items have appeared in recent days in connection with Japan’s relations with the Arab Gulf states. The first of these issues is the visit of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to Japan this week. During his visit, the Emir met with the Emperor, Prime Minister Koizumi, Diet members, and newspaper editors. This was the Emir’s second visit to Japan. His first was in 1999.

 

Photo: The Qatari Emir and Prime Minister Koizumi
Source: Kantei

While staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, the Emir received a stream of visitors such as METI Minister Shoichi Nakagawa and the Chairman of the Japan-Qatar Parliamentary Friendship Society, Takeo Hiranuma. He also met with senior officials of Marubeni, which has important business relations with Qatar.

As a matter of background information, there are several points to note about Japan-Qatar relations. The first is that Japan is far and away Qatar’s most important export market. No less than 71% of Qatar’s oil exports and more than 80% of Qatar’s LNG exports are sent to the Japanese market. In April, Qatar Airways began direct flights between Kansai and Doha. Negotiations are now underway to begin Narita-Doha services as well.

The main headline that emerged from the Emir’s visit was his indication of support for Japan’s candidacy to become a permanent member of the UNSC. He also made the following comments about the Iraq situation to the staff of the Yomiuri: “There are many groups in Iraq, and some of them reject the Constitution and the process of democracy, and insist [upon the] withdrawal of U.S. troops there. Japan has dispatched the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq to help with electricity, medical care and water supply on humanitarian missions, but some Iraqi people see their presence as part of occupation forces. Therefore, cooperation between the United Nations and the military in Arab countries may be favorable in the Iraq issue.”

SAUDI ARABIA RECAPTURES POSITION AS JAPAN’S TOP OIL SUPPLIER

In other Gulf news, some interesting items about Japan-Saudi relations have also appeared. For the past twenty years, since 1985, the UAE has had the single largest share of oil exports to the Japanese market. However, according to figures released on June 8th, Saudi Arabia has recaptured its leading position. On the following day, economic figures were released that showed that Japan’s trade deficit with Saudi Arabia rose by 28% in 2004 due mostly to higher oil prices. Only Japan’s trade deficit with China is higher than that with Saudi Arabia. Other Islamic countries with which Japan is running a major deficit are the UAE, Indonesia, and Iran.