Israel-Japan relations
Encyclopedia
Israel–Japan relations began on May 15, 1952 when Japan recognized Israel
and an Israeli legation
opened in Tokyo. In 1954 Japan's ambassador to Turkey assumed the additional role of minister to Israel. In 1955 a Japanese legation with a Minister Plenipotentiary opened in Tel Aviv
. in 1963, relations were upgraded to Embassy level, and has remained on that level ever since. Japan's trade relations with Arab nations
and Iran
take precedence over those with Israel.
and Koreshige Inuzuka
, head of the Japanese Imperial Navy's Advisory Bureau on Jewish Affairs, returned from their military service in Siberia
to provide aid to the White Russians
against the Red Army
. They became particularly interested in Jewish affairs after having learned of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a text since proven to be a hoax but which purported to describe a plan to achieve global domination by the Jewish people. Over the course of the 1920s, they wrote many reports on the Jews, and traveled to the British Mandate of Palestine to research them and to speak with Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann
and David Ben-Gurion
. Yasue even translated the Protocols into Japanese (variations of it have frequently made the bestseller lists in Japan). The pair managed to get the Foreign Ministry of Japan
, or Gaimusho, interested in Judaism
. Every Japanese embassy and consulate was requested to keep the Ministry informed of the actions and movements of Jewish communities in their respective countries.
was an idea first discussed in 1934, in Imperial Japan, centered around the idea of settling thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Jewish refugees
escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, in Manchuria
and Japanese-occupied Shanghai
. The Imperial government wanted to gain Jewish economic prowess while convincing the United States, specifically American Jewry
, to grant their favor and invest in Japan. The Plan was first discussed in 1934, and solidified in 1938 at the Five Ministers' Conference, but the signing of the Tripartite Pact
in 1940, along with a number of other events, prevented its full implementation.
The plan was originally the idea of a small group of Japanese government and military officials led by Captain Inuzuka Koreshige (犬塚 惟重) and Colonel Yasue Norihiro (安江 仙弘) who came to be known as the "Jewish experts", along with industrialist Aikawa Yoshisuke
(鮎川 義介) and a number of officials in the Kwantung Army known as the 'Manchurian Faction'. The plan was named after the Japanese delicacy "fugu
", a puffer-fish whose poison can kill if the dish is not prepared exactly correct. The plan was based on a naive acceptance of European anti-Semitic prejudices, as found in the Japanese acceptance of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
as fact. Their misconception of Jewish power and wealth was partly due to their experience with Jacob Schiff
, a Jewish-American banker who, thirty years earlier, loaned money to the Japanese government that allowed it to win the Russo-Japanese War
.
The 'Jewish experts' joined forces, to an extent, with the 'Manchurian Faction,' Japanese military officials who wished to push for Japanese expansion into Manchuria. The faction was headed by Colonel Seishirō Itagaki (板垣 征四郎) and Lieutenant-Colonel Ishiwara Kanji (石原 莞爾), who were having trouble attracting Japanese settlers or investment into Manchuria.
In 1938, top government officials discussed the ideas and plans of the 'Jewish experts' in the Five Ministers' Conference.
The Plan never got off the ground. In 1939, the Jews of Shanghai
requested that no more Jewish refugees
be sent into Shanghai, as their community's ability to support them was being stretched thin.
and World War II. In 1939, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact
with Nazi Germany
, making the transport of Jews from Europe to Japan far more difficult. The Japanese government signed the Tripartite Pact
with Germany and Italy, completely eliminating the possibility of any official aid for the Plan from Tokyo.
However, Chiune Sugihara
, the Japanese Consul in Kovno, Lithuania
, began to issue, against orders from Tokyo, transit visas to escaping Jews, allowing them to travel to Japan and stay there for a limited time, ostensibly stopping off on their way to their final destination, the Dutch
colony of Curaçao
, which required no entry visa. Thousands of Jews received transit visas from him, or through similar means. Some even copied, by hand, the visa that Sugihara had written. After the grueling process of requesting exit visas from the Soviet government, many Jews were allowed to cross Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway
, taking a boat from Vladivostok
to Tsuruga, eventually being settled in Kobe
, Japan.
. It was agreed, by all the planners, that Jewish settlers would be given complete freedom of religion, along with cultural and educational autonomy. While the Japanese were wary of giving the Jews too much freedom, they felt that some freedom would be necessary to maintain their favor, and their economic proficiencies. The officials asked to approve the plan insisted that, while the settlement was to appear autonomous, controls needed to be placed, behind the scenes, to keep Jews under close watch and under control. They feared that the Jews might take over mainstream Japanese government and economy, taking command of it the way they, according to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, "had done in many other countries."
(杉原 千畝) was bestowed the honor of the Righteous Among the Nations
by the Israeli government in 1985. In addition, the Mir Yeshiva
, one of the largest centers of rabbinical study today, and the only European yeshiva
to survive the Holocaust
, survived as a result of these events.
The Japanese government appointed Yoshinori Katori, press secretary at the Foreign Ministry, as ambassador to Israel on August 1, 2006. Katori previously served as minister to South Korea
and director-general of the Consular Affairs Bureau before assuming the current post in August 2005. In September 2008, Katori ended his post to Israel and was replaced by ambassador Haruhisa Takeuchi, who presented his credentials on December 1, 2008.
In July 2006, Japan announced a plan for peace called "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity", which would be based on common economic development and effort by Israelis and Palestinians, rather than on continuous contention over land. Shimon Peres gave this idea much attention during his participation in an international conference in New York in September 2006 which was organized by former U.S. President Bill Clinton
.
In July 2008, the Japanese government reiterated its support for the plan in meetings with Israelis and Palestinians, and urged the sides to continue working towards completion. Japan also indicated specific support for an agro-industrial park to be built near Jericho, and said it hopes to begin construction by 2009.
. As a result, economic relations have been limited for most of Israel's history.
Israeli exports to Japan, consisting primarily of polished diamonds, chemical products, machinery, electrical equipment, and citrus fruit are worth $810 million. Japanese exports to Israel, consisting primarily of automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment, and chemical products, are worth $1.3 billion.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and an Israeli legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
opened in Tokyo. In 1954 Japan's ambassador to Turkey assumed the additional role of minister to Israel. In 1955 a Japanese legation with a Minister Plenipotentiary opened in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. in 1963, relations were upgraded to Embassy level, and has remained on that level ever since. Japan's trade relations with Arab nations
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
take precedence over those with Israel.
1920s
In 1922, Norihiro YasueNorihiro Yasue
Colonel Norihiro Yasue was an Imperial Japanese Army officer who played a crucial role in the so-called Fugu Plan, in which Jews were rescued from Europe and brought to Japanese-occupied territories during World War II. Believing strongly in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, he was known as one...
and Koreshige Inuzuka
Koreshige Inuzuka
Captain was the head of the Japanese Imperial Navy's Advisory Bureau on Jewish Affairs from March 1939 until April 1942. Like his Imperial Japanese Army counterpart, Col...
, head of the Japanese Imperial Navy's Advisory Bureau on Jewish Affairs, returned from their military service in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
to provide aid to the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. They became particularly interested in Jewish affairs after having learned of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a text since proven to be a hoax but which purported to describe a plan to achieve global domination by the Jewish people. Over the course of the 1920s, they wrote many reports on the Jews, and traveled to the British Mandate of Palestine to research them and to speak with Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
and David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
. Yasue even translated the Protocols into Japanese (variations of it have frequently made the bestseller lists in Japan). The pair managed to get the Foreign Ministry of Japan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)
The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...
, or Gaimusho, interested in Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Every Japanese embassy and consulate was requested to keep the Ministry informed of the actions and movements of Jewish communities in their respective countries.
Fugu Plan
The Fugu PlanFugu Plan
The Jewish settlement in Imperial Japan involved the movement of Jews to and through Japan to its occupied areas of China shortly prior to and during World War II, coinciding with the Second Sino-Japanese War...
was an idea first discussed in 1934, in Imperial Japan, centered around the idea of settling thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Jewish refugees
Jewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and Japanese-occupied Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. The Imperial government wanted to gain Jewish economic prowess while convincing the United States, specifically American Jewry
History of the Jews in the United States
The history of the Jews in the United States , has been part of the American national fabric since colonial times.Until the 1830s the Jewish community of Charleston, South Carolina was the most numerous in North America. With the large scale immigration of Jews from Germany in the 19th century,...
, to grant their favor and invest in Japan. The Plan was first discussed in 1934, and solidified in 1938 at the Five Ministers' Conference, but the signing of the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
in 1940, along with a number of other events, prevented its full implementation.
The plan was originally the idea of a small group of Japanese government and military officials led by Captain Inuzuka Koreshige (犬塚 惟重) and Colonel Yasue Norihiro (安江 仙弘) who came to be known as the "Jewish experts", along with industrialist Aikawa Yoshisuke
Yoshisuke Aikawa
-External links:*...
(鮎川 義介) and a number of officials in the Kwantung Army known as the 'Manchurian Faction'. The plan was named after the Japanese delicacy "fugu
Fugu
is the Japanese word for pufferfish and the dish prepared from it, normally species of genus Takifugu, Lagocephalus, or Sphoeroides, or porcupinefish of the genus Diodon. Fugu can be lethally poisonous due to its tetrodotoxin; therefore, it must be carefully prepared to remove toxic parts and to...
", a puffer-fish whose poison can kill if the dish is not prepared exactly correct. The plan was based on a naive acceptance of European anti-Semitic prejudices, as found in the Japanese acceptance of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
as fact. Their misconception of Jewish power and wealth was partly due to their experience with Jacob Schiff
Jacob Schiff
Jacob Henry Schiff, born Jakob Heinrich Schiff was a German-born Jewish American banker and philanthropist, who helped finance, among many other things, the Japanese military efforts against Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War.From his base on Wall Street, he was the foremost Jewish leader...
, a Jewish-American banker who, thirty years earlier, loaned money to the Japanese government that allowed it to win the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
.
The 'Jewish experts' joined forces, to an extent, with the 'Manchurian Faction,' Japanese military officials who wished to push for Japanese expansion into Manchuria. The faction was headed by Colonel Seishirō Itagaki (板垣 征四郎) and Lieutenant-Colonel Ishiwara Kanji (石原 莞爾), who were having trouble attracting Japanese settlers or investment into Manchuria.
In 1938, top government officials discussed the ideas and plans of the 'Jewish experts' in the Five Ministers' Conference.
The Plan never got off the ground. In 1939, the Jews of Shanghai
History of the Jews in China
Jews and Judaism in China have had a long history. Jewish settlers are documented in China as early as the 7th or 8th century CE, but may have arrived during the mid Han Dynasty, or even as early as 231 BCE. Relatively isolated communities developed through the Tang and Song Dynasties Jews and...
requested that no more Jewish refugees
Jewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
be sent into Shanghai, as their community's ability to support them was being stretched thin.
During World War II
Japan and Israel however do clash with each other on a number of historically controversial issues relating to the HolocaustThe Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and World War II. In 1939, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, making the transport of Jews from Europe to Japan far more difficult. The Japanese government signed the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
with Germany and Italy, completely eliminating the possibility of any official aid for the Plan from Tokyo.
However, Chiune Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
, the Japanese Consul in Kovno, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, began to issue, against orders from Tokyo, transit visas to escaping Jews, allowing them to travel to Japan and stay there for a limited time, ostensibly stopping off on their way to their final destination, the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
colony of Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, which required no entry visa. Thousands of Jews received transit visas from him, or through similar means. Some even copied, by hand, the visa that Sugihara had written. After the grueling process of requesting exit visas from the Soviet government, many Jews were allowed to cross Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
, taking a boat from Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
to Tsuruga, eventually being settled in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan.
Settler plans
Plans allowed for the settler populations to range in size from 18,000 up to 600,000 depending on how much funding and how many settlers were supplied by the world Jewish communityJewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
. It was agreed, by all the planners, that Jewish settlers would be given complete freedom of religion, along with cultural and educational autonomy. While the Japanese were wary of giving the Jews too much freedom, they felt that some freedom would be necessary to maintain their favor, and their economic proficiencies. The officials asked to approve the plan insisted that, while the settlement was to appear autonomous, controls needed to be placed, behind the scenes, to keep Jews under close watch and under control. They feared that the Jews might take over mainstream Japanese government and economy, taking command of it the way they, according to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, "had done in many other countries."
Impact
Several thousand Jews were rescued from almost certain death in Nazi-Occupied Europe by the policies surrounding Japan's temporary pro-Jewish attitude, and Chiune SugiharaChiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
(杉原 千畝) was bestowed the honor of the Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
by the Israeli government in 1985. In addition, the Mir Yeshiva
Mir yeshiva
Mir Yeshiva or Mirrer Yeshiva may refer to:* Mir yeshiva * Mir yeshiva * Mir yeshiva...
, one of the largest centers of rabbinical study today, and the only European yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
to survive the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, survived as a result of these events.
Post-1950s relations
In 1993 both nations signed the "Convention between Japan and the State of Israel for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income." In 2000, the two nations signed the "Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the State of Israel for Air Services." There were 708 Japanese nationals in Israel as of October 1999 and 604 Israeli nationals in Japan as of December 1998.The Japanese government appointed Yoshinori Katori, press secretary at the Foreign Ministry, as ambassador to Israel on August 1, 2006. Katori previously served as minister to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and director-general of the Consular Affairs Bureau before assuming the current post in August 2005. In September 2008, Katori ended his post to Israel and was replaced by ambassador Haruhisa Takeuchi, who presented his credentials on December 1, 2008.
In July 2006, Japan announced a plan for peace called "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity", which would be based on common economic development and effort by Israelis and Palestinians, rather than on continuous contention over land. Shimon Peres gave this idea much attention during his participation in an international conference in New York in September 2006 which was organized by former U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
In July 2008, the Japanese government reiterated its support for the plan in meetings with Israelis and Palestinians, and urged the sides to continue working towards completion. Japan also indicated specific support for an agro-industrial park to be built near Jericho, and said it hopes to begin construction by 2009.
Economy
Until the 1990s, Japan was the industrialized nation that acquiesced most strongly to the Arab demands to boycott IsraelArab League boycott of Israel
The Arab League boycott of Israel is a systematic effort by Arab League member states to isolate Israel economically to prevent Arab states and discourage non-Arabs from providing support to Israel and adding to Israel's economic and military strength...
. As a result, economic relations have been limited for most of Israel's history.
Israeli exports to Japan, consisting primarily of polished diamonds, chemical products, machinery, electrical equipment, and citrus fruit are worth $810 million. Japanese exports to Israel, consisting primarily of automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment, and chemical products, are worth $1.3 billion.
Visits
| Year | To Israel | To Japan |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement... |
|
| 1988 | Foreign Minister Sousuke Uno | |
| 1989 | President Chaim Herzog Chaim Herzog Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:... , Foreign Minister Moshe Arens Moshe Arens Moshe Arens is an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher and former diplomat and politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Arens has also served as the Israeli... |
|
| 1990 | President Chaim Herzog Chaim Herzog Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:... |
|
| 1991 | Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama Taro Nakayama is a Japanese doctor and politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Osaka he received a Ph.D in medicine from Osaka Medical College in 1960 for the study of infantile paralysis... |
|
| 1992 | Foreign Minister Shimon Peres Shimon Peres GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... |
|
| 1994 | Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa Koji Kakizawa was a Japanese politician who served as Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1994. After his death, he had been conferred as Junior Third Rank, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.... , Special Envoy Kabun Muto Kabun Muto was a Japanese politician who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs for a brief period in 1993.Mutō was born in Kakamigahara in Gifu Prefecture in 1926. He studied at the Kyoto University. He was later elected to the House of Representatives of Japan.... |
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin ' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995.... |
| 1995 | Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama Tomiichi Murayama is a retired Japanese politician who served as the 81st Prime Minister of Japan from June 30, 1994 to January 11, 1996. He was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the first Socialist prime minister in nearly fifty years... , Foreign Minister and Special Envoy Yohei Kono Yohei Kono is a Japanese politician and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election... |
|
| 1996 | Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda | |
| 1997 | Foreign Minister David Levy David Levy (Israeli politician) David Levy is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1969 and 2006, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Housing & Construction and as a Minister without Portfolio... , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to... |
|
| 1999 | Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura Nobutaka Machimura is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008.- Career :... , Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Shozo Azuma |
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nawaf Massalha Nawaf Massalha Nawaf Massalha is an Israeli Arab politician. He became the first Muslim Arab to hold a ministerial position in the Israeli government when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health by Yitzhak Rabin in 1992.-Background:... |
| 2002 | Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi Yoriko Kawaguchi is a Japanese politician. She was born in Tokyo. She holds a B.A. in international relations from the University of Tokyo, and a master's in economics from Yale University. She was the minister of the environment of Japan from 2000 until 2002 and the foreign minister of Japan from February 2002... |
|
| 2003 | Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi Yoriko Kawaguchi is a Japanese politician. She was born in Tokyo. She holds a B.A. in international relations from the University of Tokyo, and a master's in economics from Yale University. She was the minister of the environment of Japan from 2000 until 2002 and the foreign minister of Japan from February 2002... |
|
| 2005 | Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura Nobutaka Machimura is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008.- Career :... |
|
| 2006 | Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the... |
|
| 2008 | Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.... |
Quotes
- "Israel and Japan are situated at opposite ends of Asia, but this is a fact which binds them together rather than separates them. The vast continent of Asia is their connecting link, and the consciousness of their Asian destiny is their common thought." ~ Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
, July 1, 1952
- Both Israel and Japan are "ancient peoples who have risen from the ashes of the Second World War to build on the platform of our ancient cultures thriving, successful and advanced societies." ~ Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan ShalomSilvan Shalom' , born 4 October 1958) is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Likud and the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development. He previously served as the country's Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.-Biography:...
, January 17, 2005
See also
- International recognition of IsraelInternational recognition of IsraelThe recognition of Israel in the international community remains an outstanding issue of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Pursuant to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which provided for the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel declared its independence at midnight on 14 May 1948...
- History of the Jews in JapanHistory of the Jews in JapanThe history of the Jews in Japan is well documented in modern times with various traditions relating to much earlier eras.-Status of Jews in Japan:...
- Antisemitism in Japan
- MakuyaMakuya', also called ' and based at the Tokyo Bible Seminary, is a religious movement in Japan founded in 1948 by Ikurō Teshima. To grasp the inner truth of biblical religion, or the “Love of the Holy Spirit” as Teshima puts it, and to extol this existential love by embodying it and living accordingly is...
External links
- Security Incidents Set Tone for Japanese PM's Visit Ynetnews
- "Investigators launch probe into Japan boat crash" (Haaretz)
- "Friendly Relations With Japan"
- "EVS Receives Award from Israel-Japan Chamber of Commerce"
- "Japanese Policy in the Middle East", Raquel Shaoul
- Badr Abdel-Aati, "The Influence of External Factors on Foreign Policy: A Case Study of Japanese Policies towards Israel -1973-2003-"
- "ADL Leaders, in Tokyo, Praise Japan's Leadership in Global War Against Terrorism"
- "Japan's Koizumi mulling visits to Israel, Palestinian territories"
- "Japan and the Middle East: Signs of Change?"
- Japan-Israel Fellowship