I personally do not agree with the first article. Who is the author? How long has he done an intensive research about Japan? Isn't it a superficial observation? Isn't it a misleading article? I think the real reason lies in the collective thinking among certain Japanese specialists on the Middle East, not in the ‘conservative Japanese society', please excuse me.(Lily)
1.Times of Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com)
‘Quiet’ PM Japan trip could presage big business deals, 13 May 2014
The Japanese want to work with Israel, but without fanfare, says an Israeli expert on Japan-Israel business relations
by David Shamah
There is remarkably little fanfare in Japan over the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the country, according to Kenneth Grossberg, an Israeli professor living in Tokyo. While Netanyahu and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe issued a joint statement discussing general security and regional cooperation issues, there has been no word on the trade agreements, cooperative ventures and business deals that usually accompany such trips, especially when the countries involved are both economic powerhouses.
An expert on Israel-Japan business ties, Grossberg said that silence before a major announcement is the Japanese way. “The Japanese are very interested in growing their trade and business relations with Israel, but prefer to keep it quiet, partially because they still fear the Arab boycott.”
Netanyahu on Tuesday visited the Tokyo headquarters of electronics giant Panasonic and, at a business luncheon, praised Israel-Japan relations, saying that activity by the Israel-Japan Chamber of Commerce’s has been “significant and important.” No major announcements followed that meeting, but it is likely that news of a big deal with Panasonic or another company will come only after Netanyahu returns to Israel Thursday night “in a measured and controlled manner that allays the nervousness of the Japanese,” Grossberg said. “In fact, I have no doubt that such deals and agreements are being signed by the two leaders.”
If Japanese corporate executives still fear the Arab boycott, they may be the last people in Asia who fear economic damage because of ties with Israel. India, China, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam have a thriving and ever-growing relationship with the Start-Up Nation. According to a recent Economics Ministry report, Israel will, for what is said to be the first time, export more to East Asian countries than they will to the US. The Israel Trade Mission in China lists nearly 300 Israeli companies doing business there, and, according to the Israel Export Institute, Israel’s business presence in India will grow significantly in the coming years as a free trade agreement between the two countries is implemented.
Japan has seemingly been left out of Israel’s “Asia party,” or at least politely declined its invitation. The fault lies more in Tokyo than in Jerusalem, said Grossberg, an American oleh to Israel who worked in Israeli companies for years, before becoming the first non-Japanese professor to be granted tenure at the International Management MBA program at Tokyo’s Waseda University, known as the “Yale of Japan.” “Japan is a very conservative society, and the viewpoints and prejudices that have prevailed for decades are very hard to break. Israel was seen as a ‘dangerous’ place to do business in the past, and many Japanese still hold onto that belief, even if times have really changed.’
The cracks in the wall dividing the two countries are growing, said Grossberg. “In April, a Tokyo venture capital fund and incubator called Samurai Incubate announced that it will act as a bridge between Israeli start-ups and Japanese firms, helping the latter find Israeli technology that can help them with their businesses.” Grossberg has brought dozens of top-level Japanese businesspeople to Israel as part of his annual Start-Up Nation tour. The tour brings participants to some of Israel’s top companies and multinational R&D centers, such as Given Imaging, Mind CTI, Nanometrics, IBM, Google, Philips and Microsoft, as well as to the hot start-up areas, such as Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, where dozens of start-ups have offices and facilities.
Japanese businesspeople who join Grossberg on the tour, such as those behind Samurai Incubate, begin to understand the value of Israeli innovation for Japanese business. The conservative Japanese culture emphasizes respect for traditional ways of life, deference to seniority and not standing out in the group, in direct contrast to the Israeli start-up culture, which encourages questioning, exploring, and youthful ideas and styles. “Those Japanese who are familiar with Israel see it as a very advanced society, but most don’t know much about it,” said Grossberg. “When you sit them down and tell them, they begin to understand what Israel is all about. In the coming days I am sure we will hear more about the deals that came out of this trip, but I have a strong feeling that something big in Israel-Japan business relations is set to take place.”
2.Arutz Sheva(http://www.israelnationalnews.com)
Netanyahu Holds PA Accountable for 'Every Gaza Rocket', 13 May 2014
Netanyahu notes unity deal has changed dynamics to Japanese FM, says 'we both face rogue states'; tells Emperor of similarities.
by Ari Yashar
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday declared that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be held responsible for violence from Gaza in light of the unity deal. His comments came while on an official visit to Japan, which will end on Thursday.
Meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Netanyahu mentioned the reconciliation deal made between the PA and Hamas in late April which torpedoed the peace talks.
"Hamas is committed to our destruction. We remain committed to advancing the peace, preferably a negotiated peace. But we can only negotiate with a government whose constituent parts are committed to peace," stated Netanyahu.
The prime minister added that as long as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas remains committed to the unity deal with Hamas, "a terrorist organization that regularly fires rockets into Israel, then we'll have to hold him accountable for every rocket that is fired from Gaza, to Israel."
Netanyahu mentioned that he hopes "that this pact is dissolved and we can find a way to return to genuine negotiations with a genuine peace partner."
"We both face rogue states"
Echoing his comments to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in their meeting on Monday, Netanyahu remarked on the danger posed to both Israel and Japan by "a rogue state arming itself with nuclear weapons." In Japan's case the rogue state is North Korea.
"We obviously sympathize and understand the predicament facing you. We are faced with such a rogue state in the form of Iran and its quest to develop nuclear weapons," said Netanyahu.
Noting a UN report which on Monday revealed Iran's methods of evading the sanctions that were imposed on it, Netanyahu called the report "another example of how Iran continues to deceive the world and advance its nuclear program."
"Clearly the Ayatollahs cannot be trusted, and if the international community wants to avoid the specter of nuclear terrorism, they must assure that Iran, the foremost sponsor of terrorism on the planet, not have the capability to develop nuclear weapons," stated Netanyahu.
"This is our number one concern but I think it should be shared by everyone who is concerned by the proliferation of nuclear terrorism and nuclear weapons," concluded the prime minister.
In Monday's meeting with Abe, the two prime ministers "affirmed the importance of bilateral defense cooperation", according to an official statement. "They agreed on the visit of officers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to Israel."
"We both have overcome hardships"
Netanyahu and his wife Sarah also met with Japanese Emperor Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kyoto Shimbun reports that Netanyahu said "Japan and Israel share the common feature of having overcome hardships," referring to the Holocaust and the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the close of World War II.
Emperor Akihito agreed, adding "the Holocaust was a very heartbreaking event."
The natural disaster that struck Tohoku in eastern Japan in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami wrought massive damage including damage on nuclear reactors, was also discussed. Over 15,000 deaths were reported in the national tragedy; at the time Israel sent an IDF medical team to the affected area.
Akihito remarked "we are very grateful for the various forms of support we received from Israel at the time of the disaster," reports Sankei News.
Netanyahu responded by saying "not only the government, but also (Israeli) citizens who witnessed the great tragedy gave their heartfelt assistance," to which the Emperor emphasized "we are very thankful for those feelings."
3.Mainichi (http://mainichi.jp)
Netanyahu suggests Iranian weapons technology provided to N. Korea, 14 May 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on May, 13, 2014. (Mainichi)
Technology on the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles advanced by Iran has been supplied to North Korea, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested during an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on May 13.
During his interview in Tokyo with Yoshiaki Ito, executive editor of the Mainichi Shimbun, and the Mainichi's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Tomoko Ohji, Netanyahu was asked about Japanese concerns that Iranian missile and nuclear development technology had been supplied to North Korea. He replied this was why Iran should be discouraged from developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.
"Precisely for this reason, I believe that the E3+3 or the P5+1 should insist that Iran stops developing ICBMs, in addition to dismantling its capacity to make atomic bombs and atomic warheads," he said.
It has already been pointed out that North Korea has supplied technology to Iran. Netanyahu said the view of some experts that the level of Iran's missile knowledge and technique was surpassing that of North Korea was right. He added that Iran and North Korea "help each other," and said that Iran would likely share all kinds of technology it had acquired with North Korea.
"Whatever they have they will share with North Korea," he said. By stressing the cooperative relationship between Iran and North Korea, he underscored the need for Japan and Israel to work more closely together.
In talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 12, Netanyahu said Japan and Israel had engaged in "close consultations" over the sharing of intelligence pertaining to such issues -- demonstrating the commitment to building a system of cooperation between defense authorities in Japan and Israel.
Iran and six world powers comprising Germany and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) will meet in Vienna from May 14, laying the groundwork for a settlement aiming to agree on a final solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. In November last year the six countries reached an interim deal on easing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment program.
Netanyahu has said previously that such agreements only give Iran freedom and time to develop nuclear weapons. In his interview with the Mainichi, he indicated he was against any agreement giving major concessions to Iran.
"The goal should be to prevent Iran from having the capacity to make nuclear weapons," he said. "This is what Iran is seeking to achieve in these current negotiations. They want, essentially, the sanctions lifted and the capacities to remain. And the outcome, if that happens, would be very bad, and it would be like North Korea."
Asked if there was a possibility Israel would unilaterally attack Iran if it could confirm through independent intelligence gathering that Iran's nuclear development had reached a serious level, Netanyahu replied, "I'd rather concentrate on encouraging the world powers to achieve a good deal," indicating that he would keep an eye on the progress of talks for the time being.
Netanyahu also commented on Palestinian conditions for the resumption of negotiations in the Middle East peace talks, including a freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territory. "I don't think it's a good idea to put preconditions," he said, indicating that the resumption of talks under such conditions would be difficult.
Conditions for resuming talks set by the Palestine Liberation Organization include the release of jailed Palestinian prisoners, which Israel suspended at the end of March; the freezing of Jewish settlement activities; and the drawing the new boundaries between Israel and the future Palestinian state over the course of about three months.
Netanyahu also said that during his meeting with Abe on May 12, the leaders discussed counterterrorism and security in connection with the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympic Games that will be staged in Tokyo.
"I did raise our willingness and desire to be part of the effort to give greater security for the (Olympic) Games, and Mr. Abe has expressed his interest in exploring that," Netanyahu said.
May 14, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
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