Takahiro Nakamae
Ambassador of Japan to Spain
Luis Ayllón / Alberto Rubio
Strengthening business, political and cultural collaboration with Spain is his main objective. Although he arrived in Madrid six months ago, this is his second mission in a country he knows very well and whose language he masters perfectly. Ambassador Takahiro Nakamae has no doubt that Spain and Japan can cooperate satisfactorily on the multilateral scene because they “share global values”.
During the last G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan announced a legislative reform to relax restrictions on arms exports and facilitate shipments to Ukraine. When will this reform become a reality?
At that summit, participants expressed their intention to provide all necessary support to Ukraine in diplomatic, financial, humanitarian and military terms. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation of international rules, including the UN Charter, and shakes the foundations of the international order. At the summit we had a meeting with President Zelenski and expressed commitment to restoring peace and safeguarding international order on the basis of the rule of law.
That said, Japan has been expressing its intention to continue its support in the humanitarian and reconstruction areas. We have so far committed $7.6 billion, which we will use for medium- and long-term reconstruction through bilateral and multilateral measures.
So we have to be very precise here. It is not that Japan is providing lethal weapons to Ukraine. The export of Japanese weapons remains highly restricted. Japan has so far provided 100 trucks and other vehicles belonging to the Self-Defence Forces as well as 30,000 emergency rations.
Japan’s Defence White Paper published at the end of last year cites China, with which it has a dispute over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands, and fears of Chinese action against Taiwan as one of the main threats. Concern is also expressed about North Korean ballistic missile launches invading Japanese airspace. Are these Japan’s main fears at the moment?
Terminologically, I would prefer to describe them as challenges, rather than threats or fears. Indeed, Japan in its national security strategy, which was defined in December last year, and the White Paper is based on this definition, sees China as a major and unprecedented strategic challenge.
China and Japan are two very large and very powerful countries in the region. They share enormous responsibilities for the prosperity and peace of the world. What we are seeing are various ways of trying to change the status quo: by force, unilaterally, and also through coercion, using economic dependence.
In November last year the Japanese Prime Minister and the Chinese President met and agreed to approach bilateral relations in a constructive and stable manner. We need continuous dialogues between our governments and we are willing to have them at various levels, being fully aware of our responsibility for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
On Taiwan, we look forward to a peaceful and dialogue-based solution to its relations with China. We do not want a change of the status quo by force. Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is indispensable for peace and prosperity in the region.
On North Korea, we counted more than 70 missile launches last year alone. And this year, there have already been more than ten. Some of them have fallen inside our Exclusive Economic Zone. These are in clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and that is why we imposed sanctions on Pyongyang and continue to urge it to stop these illegal activities.
But I also have to mention another important issue for us with regard to North Korea, because it has abducted at least 14 Japanese citizens. That is the number we have confirmed. They were mostly abducted inside Japanese territory by North Korean agents and taken to North Korea. Some have returned to Japan as a result of our diplomatic efforts, but there are still a number of people who have not been able to return. We have to continue our efforts to resolve this issue, which is a challenge for our country and for the region.
Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, but in recent times it has suffered from attacks on some politicians, such as the shooting a year ago of the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Not long ago, his successor, Fumio Kishida, suffered another attempted assassination attempt. What is happening that these events are taking place?
We have been shocked and dismayed by these incidents. These were crimes committed during the election campaign, which is a fundamental foundation of democracy. We consider them utterly despicable, barbaric and condemn them. The background to these events is not very clear, it is under judicial investigation. That is why we should not engage in speculation. What I can mention is that they are apparently committed by individuals, not organised, and that the weapons used in both cases are homemade, not manufactured weapons. In any case, the police are stepping up their measures to prevent such acts.
In this context I cannot fail to express my thanks to our Spanish friends, who sent their condolences on the death of the former Prime Minister. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez kindly came to sign the Book of Condolences and at the state funeral we had the presence of the President of the Senate, Ander Gil. So we have felt your full solidarity with us, for which we are very grateful.
As far as the economy is concerned, although Japan is still growing, it seems to be growing at a slower pace than expected. Why is this? What are the expectations for this year?
Japan has indeed suffered from almost three decades of deflationary and cost-cutting economics, but this is coming to an end. This spring, wages have been raised in several sectors of our economy. And the stock market has recently reached its highest level in 30 years. So there are several signs of economic recovery. But the challenge is to ensure this economic upturn has continued in 2022.
In this regard, we have to put the Japanese economy in the global context, where it is facing several challenges such as digitalisation or decarbonisation. Taking advantage of this global trend, our key challenge is to encourage private sector investment and corporate profitability. Recently, Japan has passed a bill encouraging investment in green transformation, with an amount of 150 billion yen (approximately €1 trillion).
Relations between Spain and Japan have only grown in recent years. You have only been in your post for about six months, but you have known our country for a long time. What would you like to improve in these bilateral relations during your time as head of the Embassy?
I was in Spain between 1986 and 1988, just when your country had just joined the European Economic Community, and more than 30 years later I am faced with a Spain that has totally changed, both in terms of infrastructure and its society, its economy, its industry. And it is also a Spain that is totally different in terms of its responsibility in the international community.
On the basis of these observations we are developing our relations in a number of areas. For example, one fairly new aspect is the area of Defence. In March last year the Defence Attaché Office was established in our Embassy in Madrid and this year we have had a very fruitful meeting between our Minister of State for Defence and Minister Margarita Robles and Secretary of State Amparo Valcarce. As a result of this dialogue there has been a political consultation, at director general level, between the two ministries. So we are deepening our dialogue in Defence. And, for example, at the same time in the Gulf of Aden we are increasing the collaboration between the Spanish Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence.
In the economic area, we are seeing a new form of business alliance between the two countries. More and more Japanese businessmen are discovering the shared advantages that Spanish companies can have in some fields, such as renewable energy, and are increasingly interested in forging alliances and cooperation. I am not just talking about economic activities in both markets, but about strengthening the competitiveness of both sides in the global market.
Our embassy is working to facilitate these business exchanges and with the expectation that even more business coalitions will emerge. Japan-Spain bilateral relations are multifaceted. On the cultural side, there are several initiatives at the regional level to foster cultural exchange. For example, the University of Salamanca declared 2023 as the Year of Japan and is organising several cultural events in Salamanca.
Galicia is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the twinning of the two pilgrimage routes, the Santiago and Kumano routes, and exchange events are also being planned. The Government of the Basque Country, for its part, has declared 2023 as the Euskadi-Japan Year and is organising various events, not only cultural but also gastronomic, tourist and economic. I understand that, in addition, plans are being made for the Lendakari to visit Japan in October to inaugurate Basque Week in Tokyo.
As far as tourism is concerned, the number of Spanish tourists visiting Japan is very happily recovering to almost the pre-pandemic level. The challenge is how to win back Japanese tourists coming to Spain. In this context we hope to resume the direct flight that was suspended because of the pandemic.
On the other hand, this autumn we are working to organise another edition of the Spain-Japan Forum, which will be the twenty-third. Last year it was held in Kyoto, in person, for the first time after several years of suspension due to Covid. Mr. Josep Piqué, who chaired the Spanish part of the forum and whose death has sadly been a great loss for us, despite his physical condition, kindly forced himself to travel to Kyoto to participate and celebrate the resumption of this important event, for which we are very grateful.
Which sectors do you think could be most interesting for investors from both countries?
During the meeting of the Spanish-Japanese Business Committee in March this year, areas such as renewable energy, health, digitalisation and infrastructures were discussed, especially in third country markets. These sectors were discussed as the most promising areas for our bilateral collaboration. And I think these are very good signs that we are seeing. The complementarity of both economies is being highlighted. For example, Spain has advantages in renewable energy and Japan has advantages in the digital sector so, by working together, companies in both countries will be able to achieve very positive global competitiveness.
As you will recall, last year our Prime Minister came to Spain for the NATO summit. And on that occasion he met with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The two agreed to build on these advantages of both countries to promote global business activities. Japan sent a business mission this year to study the development of wind power generation in Spain. There they discovered several advantages of business partnerships. So we are already working on another mission, this time on the green hydrogen industry.
On 1 July Spain will take on the Presidency of the European Council, which will coincide with Japan’s Presidency of the G-7. What can we expect from this coincidence?
Indeed, for 6 months both processes will coincide. In today’s world, in which we are facing various challenges to the international order, coordination and communication between various multilateral mechanisms is increasingly important in order to achieve synergies in agendas. In this regard, while expressing our full support and respect for Spain’s EU Presidency, we express our full readiness to dialogue and collaborate in both processes.
The issue of Ukraine is very important for all of us, as I have already mentioned. The G7 has expressed its unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as necessary. The G7 has already identified nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, resilience and economic security, including energy and food, as important issues, and it is also very important for us to confirm and share the global values that we already have. For this we are fully ready to cooperate with Spain. The cooperation between the two presidencies, I have no doubt, will contribute to strengthening and deepening bilateral ties.
