Ambassador of Japan to Qatar, Kazuo Sunaga
Doha: The Ambassador of Japan to Qatar, H E Kazuo Sunaga, has hailed the 50 years of diplomatic relationship between the two countries as bold and fruitful.
“As part of the celebrations both the countries are planning a number of cultural events and due to the coronovirus pandemic we cannot announce the programmes for now,” the Ambassador said during a press meet held in connection with the National Day, at his residence yesterday.
The Ambassador said that one of the most important events taking place during this 50th anniversary will be the inauguration of a Qatar Chair at the University of Waseda in Tokyo in May this year.
The State of Qatar is donating $6.5m to the Waseda University to set up the Qatar Chair. Waseda, one of the best private universities in Japan, is also contributing the same amount of funds, the Ambassador said.
The aim of the Chair is to enhance academic exchange between Qatar and Waseda universities and bolster collaborative research in Islamic studies. This was proposed by former university president Kaoru Kamata during the visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Japan in February 2015.
Qatar University President Hassan Al Derham attended the signing ceremony for the Chair during his visit at Waseda University last year. The agreement will facilitate appointing researchers, holding joint international conferences, translating books from Japanese to Arabic and vice versa, inviting and sending students as well as faculty from both universities, and disseminating research results at events such as international symposiums.
In September 2020, Professor Abdullah Baabood, who has previously held the positions of the Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University was appointed to Waseda University as a Chair professor.
In addition to Dr. Baabood, two young researchers will be appointed on April 1, 2021.
The Ambassador said that Qatar, like Japan, has omnidirectional diplomacy as its basic policy of diplomacy. “We also actively put effort in mediation efforts and humanitarian assistance for the realisation of peaceful solutions to regional and international issues. Qatar, which shares many values with Japan, is an important partner and will continue to work together to strengthen relations,” he said.
Ambassador Sunaga said that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade and other relations between the two countries are flourishing. In 2019 Japan was the number one importer of Qatari products including natural gas and oil.
Japanese companies are taking part in projects such as Doha Metro, expansion of Hamad Inernational Airport and most recently Qatar Petroleum awarded the contract for phase 1 of the planned LNG expansion of North Field to a joint venture of Japan’s Chiyoda Corporation.
There are opportunities for individual investments in Japan. The game industry and e-sports are among them. Japan has also been affected by COVID-19 since the beginning of last year, nontheless last year’s Japanese game industry has improved its performance on the largest scale ever.
The Ambassador also praised Qatar Airways for its uninterrupted services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qatar Airways is the only airline that continues to fly to Japanese cities even during the pandemic transporting many Japanese who wanted to return to Japan. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in a telephone call expressed Japan’s gratitude by calling the Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Speaking to The Peninsula about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, Ambassador Sunaga said: “We are confident that the rescheduled 2020 Olympics will take place in June. However, the government is bound to protect the people from the pandemic. The Japanese government and the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee are in constant touch with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The games will be held only after completing the necessary precautionary measures.”
There are not many countries in Asia that are organising large scale sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cup Football.
Japan will be hosting the Olympics this year while Qatar is in the doorsteps of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. China is also going to host the Winter Olypics next year.
The Ambassador also said that Japan will be organising the World Expo in the year 2025.
