Following the abduction of two of its citizens by the Islamic State, Japan has been put on the frontlines of a war that it technically is not even fighting but only supporting, write KV KESAVAN and VINDU MAI CHOTANI
The current situation playing out in West Asia has created a serious crisis for the Japanese Government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Early last week, the Islamic State terror group demanded $200 million, to be given within 72 hours, for the release of two Japanese hostages. As this deal caved through, one hostage, Haruna Yukawa, was killed.
The IS now is pushing to renegotiate a deal. This time round, they are demanding the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman currently on death row for an attempted suicide bombing that took place in the Jordanian capital of Amman in 2005. In exchange they are willing to release a Jordanian Air Force pilot who was captured earlier, and possibly the second hostage, Kenji Goto. This is not the first such incident that Japan has faced in West Asia, and it can serve as a stark warning that Tokyo should exercise extreme caution in all its pronouncements and policies related to this volatile region.
West Asia has always been a testing ground for Tokyo’s foreign policy. Initially pro-US in the 1960s, Tokyo presented itself as a quiet partisan of the Israeli cause. However, the first shock came with the 1973 oil crisis. Japan, which imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran was forced to make a clear-cut choice, or face a boycott by the Arab states.
Confronting the stark reality of its energy needs, Japan stunned the US, and came through for the Arabs. However, given the importance of the US-Japan alliance, the Japanese Government has since struggled to maintain a balance between supporting the US, and keeping the Arab countries in good humour by extending generous economic aid.
In its aim to achieve this balance, Japan over the years has found itself confronted by a number of situations, where this proclivity to be neutral has been questioned. One such situation was during the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Japan’s policy makers were at loggerheads between safeguarding their West Asian energy interests, and assisting the expectations from the American-led coalition. Despite heavy pressure from the US, Japan chose to stick stubbornly to its pacifist Constitution. Rather than providing the much sought after support for military action, Japan contributed $13 billion to the US forces. This chequebook diplomacy and the lack of support for the US resulted in heavy ‘Japan bashing’ from Western states, including Kuwait, who refused to recognise Japan’s role.
However, in Iraq, in 2003, Japan became wiser. In order to follow its strategy of appeasing both sides, it provided battalion-sized Japan Self Defence Forces and pledged huge amounts of humanitarian aid. Adhering to Article 9 of its
Constitution, the JSDF only performed tasks related to economic reconstruction and humanitarian relief. The JSDF were only active in non-combat zones such as Samawah in the southern part of Iraq. In doing so this time, they were successful in maintaining a balance that satisfied both the US, and the West Asian states.
There should be a clear distinction between the role of Japan’s foreign policy towards West Asia and the terrorist abductions of 2004 as well as the present hostage crisis. Japan’s policy has no direct relation to these terrorist activities. Indeed, Japan has progressed to achieve a more activist role in the region. In addition to the $2.2 billion for regional aid pledged by Prime Minster Abe two years ago, another $2.5 billion was pledged in January this year. Furthermore, in 2010, in its aim to promote a peaceful environment for the region’s economic growth, Japan announced that it would establish a $40 million naval base in Djibouti along the Gulf of Aden to combat regional piracy. This was Japan’s first foreign military base since World War II.
Despite this non-partisan approach to various West Asian issues, and its role as a humanitarian and economic contributor to the region, extremist militant groups hold the misconception that Japan’s West Asia policy has been aimed at supporting and aiding wars in the region. On the other hand, the Japanese believe that they are acting as a ‘responsible’ member of the international community by providing humanitarian support. As a result of these divergent views, Japan has, on a smaller scale, been suffering the same fate as that of the US, and western European states in the region.
In April 2004, the Iraqi Saraya al-Mujahideen militants abducted three Japanese citizens. The militants demanded that Japan withdraw its non-combatant troops from Iraq, or the hostages would be killed. Successful negotiations on behalf of the Japanese Government led to the release of these hostages. The end of October 2004 saw another Japanese citizen, Shosei Koda, being abducted and later beheaded. Behind the attack was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s group Tanzim (also known as the Al Qaeda in Iraq). The demand was once again the same. On both counts, the Japanese Prime
Minister, at that time Mr Junichiro Koizumi, had refused to succumb to the demands made by the terrorists. Instead, he insisted that the JSDF complete their humanitarian mission in the war-torn region.
In the present hostage crisis, the $200 million demanded by the IS is, ironically, the same amount that Prime Minister Abe had pledged to “those countries contending with ISIl” (another name of the Islamic State) during his tour of West Asia in January. Two things can be learned from this. First, the Japanese Government should emphasise that once again this amount is being provided purely for non-military assistance.
Second, this crisis has highlighted the need for Japanese leaders to exercise their foreign policy agenda with a more caution, and be more circumspect in volatile regions, where situations are sensitive. Many experts including the leading opposition party — the Democratic Party of Japan — are of the belief that it was a ‘risk’ to announce such bold statements supporting countries fighting the IS during this period.
Hostages have become the new currency for terrorists, and Prime Minister Abe, like his lDP predecessor Koizumi, has emphasised that he will not bow down to terrorism. These kidnappings are going to put to test the Japanese Government’s resolve to defend their policies in West Asia, including its fight against terror.
(Prof KV Kesavan is a Distinguished Fellow and Vindu Mai Chotani is a Research Assistant at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi)