Newsletter No. 1387
News-Analysis
June 22, 2009

 

ZEBARI: THE BUSINESS OF IRAQ IS BUSINESS

“The worst is over,” declared Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Tokyo, “I encourage Japanese businesses and people to play a greater role in the reconstruction of Iraq… Iraq-Japan relations have entered a new era. The nature of the relations has changed from military, security, and logistical to more business-oriented, economic-oriented areas.”

So there we have it folks: The page of history has turned. A new era has dawned in Japan-Iraq relations, and business is the name of the game.

Foreign Minister Zebari appears to have repeated this message both in private meetings with senior Japanese officials as well as at a press conference and a symposium. Iraq has become a much safer place. The security services have become much more mature. Japanese firms should start lining up at the door. Don’t get caught sleeping, boy, there is money to be made!

At the symposium, Zebari told an audience of about 150, including businessmen and researchers, that “a sense of national unity” has spread in Iraq, which is overcoming the sectarian and ethnic differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims, Christians and Kurds. Of course, Zebari’s little sunshine speech wasn’t helped by the suicide truck bombing in Taza, Iraq, that killed at least eighty people on the 20th, not long after the Iraqi foreign minister made his upbeat comments in Tokyo.

The foreign Iraqi minister also said that he is grateful for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ mission in Iraq. Zebari’s visit was a long one, lasting from the 17th to today.

NEWS BRIEFS

Iraq War Protests: On March 20th, the sixth anniversary of the US-led invasion, hundreds of Japanese demonstrated in Tokyo to call for an early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. They marched near Tokyo Station carrying banners that read: “Weapons can’t solve the Iraqi and Afghan wars. Bring peace to Palestinians right now.” The organizer, Ken Takada, stated, “If we remain silent, I don’t think the troops will withdraw.”

Lawsuit Dismissed: In April, the Okayama District Court dismissed a lawsuit in which more than two hundred plaintiffs argued Japan’s deployment of SDF troops in and around Iraq was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs had argued that the Iraq deployments had infringed on their “right of living peacefully” since it increased the risk of Japan being targeted by terrorists. Presiding Judge Teruo Koga dismissed the case, saying that the plaintiffs have no right of claim under the Civil Code over the execution of the country’s administrative power. He also refused to make any judgment or statement as to whether or not the SDF deployment was constitutional.

Iraq War Paintings: The Yomiuri Shinbun reported in April that twenty-five artworks depicting civilians killed in the Iraq War were shown in an exhibition titled “Iraq Body Count, Shisha no Fu” at Yamawaki Gallery in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The pictures were painted by 78-year-old Jun Furusawa, of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, who devoted four years to the project. Furusawa stated, “I want visitors to the exhibition to feel the weight of each civilian death.” In each of the twenty-five paintings, civilians numbering from 51 to as many as 12,344 are represented as small, dark figures. Furusawa further explained, “The starting point for my paintings stems from the anger I felt for the fact that Iraqi citizens suddenly lost their lives.”

Fallujah, The Video Game: After heavy criticism, Konami Digital Entertainment Company dropped plans in April to sell a video game that reproduces the bloody street battles of 2004 between US forces and insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. “Six Days in Fallujah,” developed by US company Atomic Games, was going to be released by Konami next year. A Konami spokesman explained the decision to drop the plan: “After seeing the reaction to the video game in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it. We had intended to convey the reality of the battles to players so that they could feel what it was like to be there.” Critics—including bereaved families of US soldiers—described the game as in poor taste and insensitive. (Apparently, Konami executives couldn’t figure that out for themselves before the wave of outside criticism.)

Rent Due: The Mainichi Shinbun reported earlier this month that a realtor in Tokyo sued the Iraqi government for failing to pay about US$3.7 million in rent for a building that housed the Iraqi Embassy in Japan. According to the complaint, the realtor made a contract to lease a six-story building in the Akasaka district to the Iraqi government for 4 million yen a month (about US$42,000) in November 1982. The contract was renewed every two years, and the rent was eventually raised to some 5.8 million yen a month in June 1994. However, the Iraqi government had since only paid around 3 million to 3.5 million yen a month. The Iraqi Embassy moved out of the building and into the Takanawa district in February 2006 and has since operated there. The building in Akasaka was later demolished, and the land is now a vacant lot. “We have not determined our policy yet, so I cannot say anything about it now,” said an attorney for the Iraqi authorities.

The Bottom Dinar: The Japan Times reported in early May that Japanese speculators are betting on the Iraqi dinar to make their fortunes. Customers are buying into Iraq for several reasons, including the expectation of Iraqi economic recovery, a desire to help the economy, and the dream of a more than 500-fold capital gain. One Japanese speculator explained, “When I heard about the dinar, I thought I would buy it for the same reason I buy lottery tickets… People are suffering there, so I am hoping the Iraqi economy will recover.”

Disabled Youth Athletics: Tomio J. Toyama (Shingetsu Member No. 114) of the US Army has translated for us a synopsis of an article from an Iraqi Ministry of Defense newspaper called Al-Khaima (The Tent). Here it is: “The General Secretary of the Iraqi Para-Olympics Committee, Fakhr al-Jamali, held a meeting this month in the Committee Headquarters in Baghdad to discuss their participation in a program for their disabled athletes to travel to Japan this year. The article mentioned the meetings with other leagues throughout Iraq to discuss the disabled athletes’ participation in sports like Tennis, Ping-pong, and Swimming in Tokyo from July to September of this year. Al-Jamali was quoted as saying the President of the Committee, Qahtan al-Naimi, ‘Was in attendance for part of the meeting and expressed his positive inclinations for this participation and it should raise the name of Iraq.’ According to the article, the Iraqi Para-Olympics Committee was established in 2003 after replacing in name the the Iraqi League for Disabled Athletes which was founded in 1982. The committee is comprised of ten sports leagues, including tennis, volleyball, and fencing for wheelchair-bound athletes.