Japanese Ambassador to Israel Mizushima Koichi took office in March 2021 after holding a long list of official government roles in Japan, including in the Japanese Embassy in the United States.
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The interview he granted Israel Hayom takes place during challenging times around the world, including his native Japan and in Israel. According to him, the two countries – so distant geographically – are close in terms of cooperation and the desire to move forward toward a better future.
Q: Israel and Japan are celebrating 70 years of Diplomatic ties. What do you think are the highlights of the period?
"There is no end to the list of individual events, each of which has its own historical weight. If one were to single out one event, the most important is the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1952, which marked the beginning of bilateral relations between the two countries.
"Immediately after Japan's return to the International community following World War II and the end of the US occupation, Japan became the first Asian country to recognize the State of Israel. Israel also became the first country in the Middle East to open a diplomatic mission in Japan," he said.
"In reality, however, it is no exaggeration to say that relations with Israel began before diplomatic relations were established, even before the establishment of the State of Israel. During World War II, one Japanese diplomat, then-Vice Consul Mr. Chiune Sugihara, in Kaunas, issued visas to save thousands of Jews. In honor of his humanitarian acts, Yad Vashem honored Mr. Sugihara as Righteous Among the Nations in 1984.
"There were other Japanese who played significant roles to save the lives of Jews, such as Mr. Saburo Nei, then Acting Consul-General in Vladivostok; Mr. Tatsuo Osako, in charge of the transportation of the ship over the Sea of Japan; and Mr. Setsuzo Kotsuji, who devoted his efforts to support the refugees' stay in Japan and the many other countless good-willed Japanese local inhabitants. These people acted for humanity in those tumultuous times.
"In February this year 2022, the Knesset, with a strong initiative by MK Zvi Hauser, Chair of the Israel-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group, awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to these Japanese citizens.
"Talking about the long friendship it is worth mentioning, though not well known, that Japan had endorsed the establishment of the State of Israel since the Balfour Declaration," he explained. "When Japan faced difficult moments Israel rushed to help us immediately. In 2011, when Japan was hit by an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, Israel was the first country to dispatch a medical delegation to the damaged area. Other NGOs also arrived in the area and devoted their efforts to encourage the population who were ravished by these events.
"Far from fading away, in gratitude to Israel, the friendship between the two countries has deepened over the years. Our business relations have been flourishing especially following the visit of then- Prime Minister Abe and over thirty business delegations in 2015. The number of Japanese companies in Israel has been expanded from 30 in 2014 to 85 in 2021. In February, 2017 Japan and Israel signed an investment agreement in a bid to create stable, equitable, favorable and transparent conditions for mutual investments.
"Since then the direct investment from Japan to Israel has been increased, and in 2021 the investment from Japan to Israel reached a record high of approximately 2.9 billion USD.
Seventy years have passed, and the current bilateral situation is as stated by the first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion at the establishment of diplomatic relations, 'Israel and Japan are at two distant ends of Asia, but it is a fact that brings them closer, not farther away.'"
Q: Many Israelis eagerly await for Japan to open its gates to foreign tourists. Do you know when that might happen?
"We are very pleased that Japan has become one of the most popular destinations among Israelis. I have also learned that Japan is now the one of the longed for destinations among teenagers especially for the occasion of their Bar Mitzvah trip, of which the popular destination has been Europe or the United States.
"The number of tourists from Israel to Japan had increased 2.4 times between 2014 and 2019, reaching to about 44 thousand in 2019. We expect that the number will continue to increase in the future.
"On June 10, Japan opened the border for foreign tourists including from Israel, but for guided tours only. It means that Israelis can travel to Japan if they join a guided tour organized by a Japanese travel agent. As for the cross-border measures, while a PCR test 72 hours prior to departure is still required, a visitor from Israel, regardless of his/her vaccination status, does not require on arrival PCR test, home quarantine nor other measures."
Q: When Japan opens for Israeli tourists, will that include launching direct flight between the two countries?
"We expect that the direct flight will contribute to the expansion of further economic relations and deepen people-to-people exchange including tourism," he said.
"The direct flight was planned to launch on March 11, 2020. Unfortunately, however, due to the pandemic such flights were postponed. We sincerely hope that the direct flights between Japan and Israel will start to fly in the near future."
Q: What can the Israeli tourist expect in post-COVID Japan?
"We would like Israeli visitors to discover Japan on various aspects. Well known cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are very beautiful cities, but there are so many beautiful landscapes and nature in other places from the north to the south. Tourists would be able to experience the beauties of nature in Japan by just extending your visit to rural parts of Japan.
"We also expect tourists to experience our culture. Just like Israel, Japan is rich in culture and historical sites including temples and shrines. Visitors also can enjoy a Japanese pop culture such as anime, manga. It is one of the attractiveness of Japan to have both traditional and modern cultures. Through travels to Japan we want you to get to know more about Japan and to fall in love with Japan all the more."
Q: There is amazing cooperation between Israel and Japan on technology and investments, especially in recent years.
"Despite the pandemic, cooperation and our business and economic ties are flourishing, and remain vibrant and creative. After one year of working here in Israel, I witnessed several cases whereby Japanese companies invested here and set up research labs, branches and found promising startup companies to invest in.
"As mentioned earlier, according to a survey by an Israeli company, last year, investment from Japan to Israel reached almost $3 billion, accounting for about 16% of all foreign investment in Israel.
"The expansion of Japanese companies into Israel is positively incessant. Beyond the fact that Japanese and Israeli businesses are complementary to each other, the deepening of our economic relations holds benefits beyond our mutual profit-making; proposing solutions to global issues such as climate change, food and water shortages, population aging issues and contributing to the stability and prosperity of the world. I am confident we will reap many benefits from our efforts to cultivate these relations," he said.
Q: Israel faces the threat of a nuclear Iran and we see a similar process whereby Japan is being threatened by North Korea. What is your view on Israel-Japan relations in terms of security?
"Japan and Israel as democratic countries share common values such as the rule of law, democracy, free trade, freedom of navigation, human rights and so on. Even amid the increasing concern about the security situation in Japan's immediate vicinity, Japan has continued to contribute to the peace and stability of the Middle East based on the vision of a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific,' the so-called FOIP that outlines our guiding principles for international cooperation.
"The Japan Self-Defense Forces have been contributing to stabilizing this region, such as by the dispatch of officers to the MFO in the Sinai Peninsula since 2019, which is highly appreciated by many Israeli defense officials.
"We wish to further strengthen cooperation with Israel, following the second meeting of the Politico-Military Dialogue held last year, a Defense attaché has been assigned to the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo, and an additional Japanese Defense attaché was dispatched to Israel."
Q: Do you think Japanese tourists will visit Israel soon?
"The number of visitors from Japan had already doubled between 2014 and 2019. We expect that the number will continue to rise in the future as interest among Japanese toward Israel has increased in the last decades.
"Most visitors from Japan visit historical holy sites such as Jerusalem, the world-famous Dead Sea resort, and the beautiful beaches along the Mediterranean coast are also popular tourist destinations.
"In addition to these, Israel's unique nature, such as the Negev Desert and various beautiful National Parks we consider would appeal as attractive destinations for Japanese tourists."
Q: Will we see future collaborations between the two countries that go beyond economic ones? In space and science?
"In cybersecurity, between our two countries, the 'dialogue on cyber Issues' started in 2014. Through this framework, both sides shared our respective cybersecurity-related policies and exchanged our views as to further cooperation between the two countries.
"The Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of cybersecurity was signed by respective economic ministries in 2017, followed in the next year by an accord to cooperate in R&D, information exchange, and training programs in the field of cybersecurity.
"The cooperation between our two countries is not limited to government-to-government cooperation. Last year when Japan hosted the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, cybersecurity was one of the significant topics.
"The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee initiated bilateral collaboration with other relevant countries to fend off this threat. In relation to this, dozens of Israeli cybersecurity technologies were adopted to secure the Tokyo 2020 Games through bilateral partnership, such as the one between Japan's energy sector and the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC).
"Space cooperation – on March 14, 2021, Mitsui Bussan Aerospace, a Japanese company, released safely the ultra-small satellite of the Tel Aviv University, 'TAUSAT-1' into outer space from the International Space Station (ISS) "KIBO", which is an experimental module developed by Japan. That was the first successful release of overseas satellites after the privatization of this business by JAXA, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
"That was a great example of aerospace collaboration between two countries, but this success story is just beginning. In May 2021, Japanese company "ispace" signed an
agreement with Helios, an Israeli startup developing technology to produce oxygen from lunar soil, to let Helios join their missions on the lunar surface.
"Sciences – there is a long history of collaboration in the sciences. Both counties signed a science and Technology Cooperation Agreement in 1994, and have participated in the Joint Committee on Cooperation in Science and Technology, some nine times. Based on this dialogue, both countries' governments have supported several scientific research studies on ICT and life science.
"The academic exchange in science has been deepened in recent years as well. In June 2019 a Japanese scientist joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute of Science as an assistant professor. He is the first Japanese tenured
researcher at the institution. In the same period of June, 2019, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and the Weitzman Institute of Science, together with four other international research institutes, have founded the 'BRIDGE network' with the aim of strengthening excellence in scientific research and education through collaboration and student exchanges."
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"In 2020 the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and Tokushima University have signed an agreement to promote collaboration and joint research, especially through exchanges of postdocs and PhD students. And furthermore, there is an ongoing collaboration since 2017 between Nichia Chemistry, a Japanese company, doing joint research with the Technion in Israel, while last year, Fujitsu, a Japanese IT company, and Ben-Gurion University embarked on joint research at the new center in Israel for precise and secure AI."
Q: Can Japan be a proper mediator between Israel and other Asian countries that might join the Abrahamic Accords?
"Japan sincerely hopes that the evolving regional cooperation driven by the Abraham Accords will help ease tensions and contribute to stabilization in the region," he said. "Since the Abraham Accords, Japan notes as a positive development that Israel continues its efforts to ease tensions and advances cooperation in the Middle East region and focuses on concrete steps. Japan has also been working to support this new relationship with Israel to take root, for example, by holding trilateral economic forums with Israel and the UAE.
"We look forward to further progress in the cooperation, leading to the prosperity of our countries. At the same time, in order to bring about long-lasting stability in the region, Japan reiterates the importance of striving for Middle East Peace and believes that a two-state solution will continue to be a key.
"From this perspective, Japan has long been supporting confidence-building effort between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides. Since 2006, Japan, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan have been implementing the 'Corridor for Peace and Prosperity,' a regional cooperation initiative among the four parties. Six ministerial meetings have been held by the four parties so far.
"In addition, Japan launched the 'Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD)' in 2013. This framework includes Asian countries with which Israel has no diplomatic relations."
