Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has returned from a five-country tour of the Middle East. Ostensibly, Mr. Abe was focusing on energy security but his visits encompassed much more than that. Mr. Abe was raising Japan's diplomatic profile in a region that is vital to its national security — and that of the entire world. Implicit in his conversations was the message that Japan seeks a higher diplomatic profile and is ready to play a larger role in that region's turbulent politics.
With Middle East states providing some 90 percent of Japan's crude-oil imports — and the countries he visited accounting for 70 percent of the total — the need for good relations with his hosts is plain. But Mr. Abe laid out a much wider strategic rationale for his trip in remarks before his departure, which he repeated at his last stop in Cairo. Both times, he explained that "The peace and stability of the Middle East is essential for the peace and prosperity of the world." Desiring to contribute to that stability, "My nation will become actively involved in the area, building a multi-layered relationship and a new age for both Japan and the Middle East."
Although rich now, the countries of the Persian Gulf know that their future depends on development so that they have economic options when the oil runs low. Japan has technology that can play a critical role in laying a foundation for development, as well as a history of success. These countries are too rich to receive Official Development Assistance, the traditional tool Tokyo uses to broaden relations. Thus, Mr. Abe was accompanied by some 180 business executives, a coterie that included such prominent names as Nippon Keidanren Chairman Fujio Mitarai, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Chairman Shigemitsu Miki, Sony Corp. Chief Corporate Advisor Nobuyuki Idei, and Nippon Oil Corp. Board Chairman Fumiaki Watari. Their presence signaled Japan's seriousness to develop new types of relations.