Shuji Hosaka: The Situation in Gaza and Japan

2024/04/09

People enjoying swimming at a beach in Gaza (2004, Photo by Rika Fujiya)

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, the Islamist organization that effectively controls Gaza, Palestine, launched a surprise attack on Israel. In response, Israel, which possesses overwhelming military superiority, counterattacked and invaded Gaza, leading to a quagmire in the Middle East. Approximately 1,400 people died in Israel, while in Gaza, more than 30,000 people have already perished, many of whom were women and children. Furthermore, Israel's "complete siege" of Gaza has stalled the delivery of humanitarian supplies, creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Moreover, the fighting has not been limited to Palestine, spreading to Lebanon and Yemen as well.

In response to these events, many people in Japan have stood up. Some may support Israel, while others support Palestine. We Middle East researchers in Japan are the same. Even if one is not an expert on Israel or Palestine, as someone involved in the same Middle East region, it is only natural that many are pained by the situation in Gaza and feel that, as a responsibility of Middle East experts, they must take action toward calming the situation.

First, on October 17, a group of "Voluntary Middle East Researchers" released "Appeal by Middle East Researchers Concerned about the Situation in Gaza, Calling for an Immediate Ceasefire and Humanitarian Aid," which centered on an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, the promotion of humanitarian aid, compliance with international law and international humanitarian law, and the creation of an environment for peaceful and political solutions to various issues. It received a large number of supporters.

Subsequently, academic societies in which the majority of Japan's Middle East researchers participate—the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan, the Japan Association for Middle East Studies, and the Japan Association for Islamic Studies—issued statements one after another. Comparing the four statements, the content does not differ much. What is important is that at this stage, they avoided naming and shaming either Hamas or Israel. There are pro-Israel and pro-Palestine individuals within Japan and within Middle East-related academic societies, and criticism arose from both sides that these statements were lukewarm. However, at that point, this was the limit to gain broad support.

Since we are Japanese researchers, the statements from the aforementioned Middle East-related academic societies also include requests to the Japanese government. For example, the statement from the Board of Directors of the Japan Association for Middle East Studies calls on the Japanese government to: 1. Cooperate in preventing the escalation of the situation and creating an environment for a political solution; 2. Build an international support system for the restoration of social and economic infrastructure; and 3. Create a new international framework for a final and permanent solution to the problem after the conflict subsides.

In fact, Japan's stance on the Palestinian issue has differed from that of the West since it shifted to a pro-Arab position during the first oil crisis in 1973. That was precisely the factor that led Arab and Muslim countries to trust Japan.

However, in this Gaza war, Japan showed a stance that could be interpreted as pro-Israel from a very early stage. On the day of the incident, the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement strongly condemning Hamas and others and calling for maximum restraint from the parties involved. The following day, a statement from the Foreign Minister was issued, also strongly condemning Hamas and others. At that time, mention was also made of the early release of hostages and concern for the casualties in Gaza. On the same day, Prime Minister Kishida also issued a statement with the same tone.

Then, on October 11, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Masataka Okano, in a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, condemned the attacks by Hamas and others using the word "terrorism." Since then, both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister have consistently referred to Hamas's attacks as terrorism, including in meetings with Arab government officials. Of course, it is natural from the perspective of international law that Hamas's attacks are regarded as terrorism. However, with such a tone, the difference from the U.S. and G7 countries—that is, Japan's uniqueness—is not visible. It is no wonder that voices of dissatisfaction, anger, and disappointment toward Japan have arisen from the Arab people who had trusted Japan.

Furthermore, in January 2024, the Director-General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who serves as the command center for Japan's Middle East policy, changed from Kansuke Nagaoka, an Arabist with extensive experience and networks in the Middle East, to Toshihide Ando, the Director-General of the Consular Affairs Bureau, who had almost no connection to the Middle East. The government's true intention in changing the command center in the midst of the Middle East turmoil is unknown, but failing to appoint a Middle East expert as the successor could be seen as a disregard for the Middle East.

Later, when it was revealed that Hamas had infiltrated the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and were involved in the surprise attack, Japan, along with the U.S. and Western countries, suspended funding to UNRWA. Of course, complicity in terrorism is absolutely unacceptable, but those who suffer from the suspension of funding are Palestinian civilians. To begin with, UNRWA was always at the core of Japan's support for Palestine, but this time, Japan has abandoned it of its own accord.

In recent years, Japan's presence in the Middle East has declined significantly. Does this mean that the Middle East is no longer important to Japan? Nevertheless, Japan still imports more than 90% of its oil from the Middle East and depends on Middle Eastern choke points such as the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait for logistics. In fact, the expansion of the Gaza conflict has had a direct impact on Japan, such as a cargo ship operated by a Japanese company being seized in the Red Sea. The chaos in the Middle East is by no means someone else's problem.

(Postscript: Following allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas surprise attack on Israel last October, Japan had suspended funding to UNRWA. However, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa announced on April 2 that funding would be resumed. This measure is said to be in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and improvements in UNRWA's governance.)