Newsletter No. 282
May 26, 2006

 

The Asahi Shinbun has recently published an interview on Japan-Arab relations with Nabil Fahmi of Egypt. Fahmi is currently the Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, and was formerly an ambassador to Japan. He is very upbeat in this interview, and makes points that would go down very well with the Koizumi administration.

INTERVIEW WITH NABIL FAHMY: INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS NEED A FULL DECK OF CARDS
By Tsutomu Ishiai of the Asahi Shinbun

Japan has an important role to play internationally, and for that it will need "a full deck of cards," in the words of Nabil Fahmy, former Egyptian ambassador to Japan and now to the United States, in a recent interview with the Asahi Shinbun.

By that, Fahmy means the ability to provide peacekeepers, aid workers in conflict areas, military assistance and transport. Japan's greatest challenge, he says, is to explain to its own population what it means to be a global player.

Q: What is the image of Japanese diplomacy from the viewpoint of Arab countries?

A: The image in the Arab world starts with a positive image, because for many reasons, historically, you have been supportive of the Arab cause. The image in the Arab world also is of a country that has become more active politically. For historical reasons, your dealing with foreign crises outside of your region has not been proactive, but has been reactive. But as you gain different stature and as time goes by, Japan is playing a much more proactive political role in areas beyond its region.

Q: Japan is also strengthening its relationship with Israel, but that doesn't mean that we have to be less involved with the Arab countries. Do you agree with that, and does that pose a problem for your country?

A: I agree with the idea that being engaged with Israel or the Arab world is not at the expense of the other. But your engagement should not be at the expense of right and wrong. It should not be at the expense of political compromise. In the Arab-Israel conflict there is an occupation, and it should not legitimize occupation, by any standard. Engaging them, by way of convincing them to end the occupation in exchange for good relations, is a good point.

Q: How do you regard Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's foreign policy, which is very pro-United States?

A: Since your activism has coincided with a unipolar world rather than a bipolar world, it has tended to be in cooperation with the superpower that exists. We have a strong relationship with the United States as well, so this is not a criticism. I don't think that what we are seeing now by way of Japanese policy is identical to U.S. policy, just because you are coming out in a unipolar period and a global environment and because you may actually agree with some of the policies that the United States is doing.

Q: Japan has been quite supportive of the Bush administration's actions in Iraq. But your country has not been as supportive, and has in fact been rather critical. Why?

A: We have always held paramount that the use of force can only be done unilaterally if there is an aggression or occupation. And in the absence of that, the U.N. Security Council has to mandate the use of force because that is our security cover. If the Security Council could not issue a resolution, then for us, military force cannot be used except in the case of aggression. And Saddam Hussein had not attacked anyone. We are a medium-sized country. Our security umbrella is the Security Council resolution. Your security umbrella is your relationship with the United States.

Q: Many European countries like France and Germany are still suffering from their opposition to the United States. But there does not seem to be any deterioration in U.S.-Egypt relations. How did you manage that?

A: We manage it by being very honest and very candid with our friends. As a friend, that doesn't mean I'll have to agree with you all the time. American forces travel through the Suez Canal, not to Iraq, but to the Arabian Gulf area from where they stage their operations. They flew over Egypt to their staging bases. These are facilities we provided America and other countries in the past. We did not stop them. We simply did not participate in the operations. I think the Americans understood our position and accepted it. They disagreed with us, but they accepted our position on Iraq.

Q: Some politicians say that we should be a "normal country" that has military forces. What do you think?

A: The reality is, Japan has an important role to play internationally and globally. Although we are not looking for an aggressive posture, needless to say, having the ability to provide peacekeepers, having the ability to provide people working in conflict areas, to provide military assistance and transport is part of being an active player internationally. So there is a certain logic: If you want to be a full player, you have to have a full deck of cards.

Q: What do you think of the U.S. policy to democratize the Middle East?

A: Democracy is government of the people by the people, in simple terms. It's not talking about the Japanese people or the American people. It has to be for Egypt, for the Egyptian people, for Italy, for the Italian people, for Japan and the Japanese people. These people have to go through the process. The initial grand scheme was a "greater Middle East." Who is defining the Middle East? People in the Middle East have to define the Middle East. Half a century ago, or more, the British were defining the Middle East. Now are we going to have somebody else define the Middle East? That is our concern.

Q: How do you see Japanese society's tolerance toward all kinds of religion?

A: Kids with dyed hair would go home and put on traditional Japanese clothes to visit shrines. The Japanese are being religious to so many different shrines at the same time. I took this to be a reaffirmation, both of your identity and your respect for others. You want to preserve your identity but you also respect that others can have their own identity. That your identity does not have to be forced on others. Countries like Japan, Egypt and Spain that have a tolerance for others, that have had a history of engagement, and that have a deep respect for history and culture, can play a very important role in a dialogue of civilization.

Q: Could you make any suggestions about the future strategy of Japan?

A: Your challenge will be, as you look into the future, how to get your own population to support Japanese engagement in different areas around the world, which you may not see as an immediate national security concern. You may take pride in international contribution, but it comes with a price. So I think your greatest challenge will be to explain to your own people what it means to be a "global player." It's not a seat in the Security Council. It's not voting for or against America.

Nabil Fahmy, 55, was Egypt's ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 1999. He currently serves as ambassador to the United States.