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Lessons from Japan and the Arab world | |
| Staff Writer |
The Middle East-Japan relations stand and thrive on robust fundamentals wher both complement each other in more ways than one. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan depends on the Middle East for approximately 78 percent of its crude oil imports. Other estimates suggest an even higher percentage of Japan’s energy dependence on the region.
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Japan’s vulnerability became evident in March this year when it announced the release of 7.5 million barrels of oil from private reserves to compensate for supply disruptions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Around the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged Middle East’s oil-producing countries to ramp up production. In 2021, Japan imported approximately 55.6 million kiloliters of crude oil from Saudi Arabia alone.
Besides its energy sector outreach, Japan has also cast its net wide in the region in the trade arena. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) statistics put the UAE-Japan bilateral trade at US$ 30.5 billion last year. ADDED says the UAE exports to Japan rose to US$ 24 billion by the end of 2021, while its imports from Japan increased to US$ 6.5 billion.
Addressing the eighth session of the Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council, Nobuyori Kodaira, the President of the Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East, said this year (2022) marks the 50th anniversary of the Japan-UAE diplomatic relationship. “Our bilateral relations predate the diplomatic records as Japan started crude oil imports from Abu Dhabi in 1962,” Kodaira said.
Japanese automobile brands dominate a whopping 70 percent of the UAE market share. From 2015 to 2020, Toyota was a consistent market leader in the region, followed by Nissan and Mitsubishi. The meat, not the spice, makes this relationship unique.
Since stories of civilizations’ relationships are about humans and cultures, for every Japanese Akira Takatoriya, there is a Yousef Ahmad in the Middle East, furthering and fostering cooperation. Last month, Ahmad, a prolific artist, presented the Dialogue of Paper, A Legacy of Qatar Japan Year of Culture, at the famous 3331 Arts Chiyoda artistic hub in Tokyo. The exhibition displayed 28 pieces created by Ahmad and Japanese artist Hayaki Nishigaki.
“Paper has played a major role in human history, and Japan stands at the forefront of introducing paper-making techniques to the world in conjunction with calligraphy,” Ahmed said, highlighting how much both sides can learn and benefit from each other. On this occasion, the technique found its match in creativity.