Journalists met in Tokyo to discuss ways of cementing between Japan and the Islamic worlds. Mohamed Ibrahim El-Desouky reports from the Japanese capital Since 2003 Japan has made an effort to strengthen its relationship with the Middle East through the sponsorship of such events as the Japan-Arab Dialogue forum, the Japan-Middle East Cultural Exchanges and Dialogue Mission, and the Dialogue Among Civilisations between Japan and the Islamic world. But Japan understood the value of opening channels of dialogue with Islamic countries long before attacks of the 11 September against the United States. In his speech to the diet -- the Japanese parliament -- in January 2001, Japan ex-foreign minister Yohei Kono, took up the theme of dialogue among civilisations, named the Kono Initiative, emphasising the paramount importance for all people to better understand one another's culture and cultivate understanding and acceptance of other people through dialogue. The Kono Initiative consists of three main points: to promote a civilisational dialogue with the Islamic world by constructing multi-layered intellectual networks; to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation with the Gulf countries concerning the sustainable development of water resources in the region; and to multiply bilateral conferences with the Islamic world. The objective of dialogue between Japan and the Arab-Islamic world is to understand each other and recognise other countries as partners for exchange in many fields. But unless the Arabs, Muslims and Japanese know each other's historical and cultural background well enough to understand the cultural meanings of the other's gesture, serious misunderstandings will take place between them. And unless the two parties of a dialogue can be open-minded towards each other, it will be impossible to advance to a level of true understanding. Unfortunately, however, after about 14 years of dialogue and meetings the two parties have failed to achieve these objectives. While there may have been greater understanding on the academic and official level, on the public level there is still a long way to go. So the main objective in the first Japan-Arab Islamic Journalists Meeting was to explore the reasons behind the difficulties in reaching mutual public understanding and how these difficulties might be overcome. Generally, the attitude of Arabs towards Japan is very friendly and sympathetic, mainly because they appreciate Japan's achievement in socio-economic development as well as scientific and technological progress. However, a sense of remoteness and impersonalisation has been cultivated by the Japanese despite their overall dependence on the energy supply of the Arab world. The rapid economic growth of Japan came to an end very abruptly amidst the first oil crisis which followed the 1973 War. The Gulf War of 1991 caused a drastic change in Japan's commitment in the international arena with Japan dispatching self- defence forces for PKO abroad. No doubt what happened to Japan during the 20th century is nothing short of a miracle. During the first part of the century they became a military superpower in the Far East, feared by their neighbours for the ferocity and fearlessness of their soldiers. After World War II they became an economic superpower and were equally feared and respected for their economic might. Arabs and Muslims always ask, why were the Japanese able to change, adapt, and draw strength from their values, traditions, and heritage, and transform their ancient warriors into modern soldiers or corporate employees while we in the Arab, Islamic world have failed to do the same? Some argue that this was possible only because Japan abandoned its old ways and jumped on the modern bandwagon -- and yet it seems its ability to retain its values and traditions made Japan special. What we don't understand in the Arab world is that one of the main factors behind what we usually call the "Japan miracle" is an investment in human resources. Japan's success is truly astonishing; but for the causes of this "miracle", we need to look beyond Japanese culture. The causes of this unprecedented process of development are to be found in the political, military and institutional reforms, the industrialisation and railway building which began with Japan's transformation in the Meiji era. Here we realise that the comparison between the Arab world and Japan is limited to what happened in the 19th century and after World War II. We have neglected to learn from the Japanese experience in dealing with current economic, financial and social problems in the last three years because our full concentration is on the past. Not only this, but Japan is also experienced in handling the conditions of globalisation and drastic changes on the international stage without losing its unique identity: for Arabs, this is a crucial factor. Perhaps it is time for Arabs to re-evaluate themselves and learn from past mistakes, retaining the values that make us special while becoming adaptable, flexible, and allowing the voice of reason and tolerance to speak louder. If this is achieved, we might gain the respect of the world through a deeper understanding of our own culture. In turn, future generations will have a greater chance of prosperity and growth. Here, we have to admit that ordinary Arabs and Muslims are facing a serious problem in understanding Japan correctly, mainly because more than 90 per cent of the news stories, analyses and basic information depend on Western and American sources. For example, the Western media insist on the strong relationship between Japan and US as the only reason behind Tokyo decision to change its policy towards Middle East and the world. And while no body can deny that Japan is the most important US ally in Asia and this affects the way Japan deals with international crises, as Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shinzo Abe points out, we must also acknowledge that Japan is a powerful country with its own interests to protect. So what do we have to do to overcome the lack of direct information about contemporary Japan? Japan has lots of NGOs and NPOs that have connections with the Arab world and the Islamic sphere. But pure volunteer groups give little thought to what's necessary for Japan now or what's important for interaction between Japan and the Arab world. Books in Arabic about contemporary Japan are few and far between. Not many people know of Shumei Okawa (1886-1927) who translated the Quran into Japanese, had a kind of sympathy for Islam and Arab world, and understood Arab nationalism. For starters, a number of books in Arabic providing basic facts about Japan are needed. Newspapers have to study the possibility of signing agreements to exchange articles, information and news stories, so that readers in the Islamic, Arab countries can obtain information from original sources. Arabic newspapers have to open offices in Tokyo and see what happens there from their own -- rather than the Western or American -- perspective. Students from Arab countries who study overseas head mainly for the West; almost all who come to Japan are studying the sciences. This is not the same as wanting to study Japanese culture. In many Arab and Islamic countries and in Europe as well, 90 per cent of so-called Japanese studies examine the tea ceremony, Noh drama, the ancient tale of genji, and 15th and 16th century Japanese literature. There is little known about contemporary Japan, not to mention the economic progress that has made it the second largest economy in the world.
