Faris Alrushud Riyadh

Arab News Japan, the digital Japanese edition of the Middle East’s leading English-language daily, marks its first year on Oct. 21 since its launch last year from Tokyo in a ceremony attended by prominent Japanese and Saudi officials and figures. 

The launch ceremony, held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ), was attended by Tarō Kōno, the former Japanese minister of defence and the incumbent Minister of Administrative Reform and Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo. The ceremony was also attended by Majid Al-Qasabi, the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment, Faisal Abbas, the Editor-in-Chief of the Arab News newspaper, Tarek Mishkhas, the deputy of the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Ali Itani, the regional head of the newspaper’s Japanese edition as well as guests from diplomatic, business and academic circles in Japan.

The launch of Arab News’ second digital edition, issued in the Japanese language, comes after the massive success achieved by its first digital edition, issued in the Pakistani language and launched in Islamabad in February 2018. The move comes as part of the newspaper’s constant global expansion 

Moreover, it symbolizes the development and enhancement of trade and cultural relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan. It also enables a lot of Japanese people to read Arab current affairs through the Japanese platform of the Arab News.     

Go Nagai, the Japanese manga and anime artist, who gained his fame in the Arab world for creating Grendizer, produced in 1975 and then dubbed in Arabic and broadcast in the 1980s, enjoying a huge popularity that still resonates, was also one of the launch ceremony attendees.    

The famous manga artist has designed the Japanese digital edition of the Arab News newspaper in honour and appreciation of his huge number of fans in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. “I strongly value the fact that the Saudis liked Grendizer I had created,” Nagai said in interview with Arab News.

He noted that he had always created stories about adventures and dreams, adding that he is glad these stories had been welcomed by his fans.    

The Arab News Japan’s first coverage coincided with the inauguration ceremony of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, held on Oct. 22, 2019. 

Naruhito is the successor of his father, Emperor Akihito, who abdicated after being in power for 30 years, in a first move taken by a Japanese emperor in 200 years.  

Arab News Japan has distinguished itself with special coverage of different outstanding events in Japan and the Middle East in its first year. One of the most prominent special coverage is the visit of Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister, to some Gulf countries, including a formal visit to Saudi Arabia on January 12, this year. During the visit, the former Japanese prime minister met the Saudi king. The two leaders held formal discussions during which they reviewed the relation between the two countries and the cooperation horizons based on the Saudi-Japanese vision 2030. In addition, Abe paid an exploratory visit to Al-Ola historic governorate during which he met Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, enjoying a traditional Saudi atmosphere in a winter camp.   

Being unique and making the Japanese reader at the centre of events, the newspaper had the advantage of covering the implications of the escape of Carlos Ghosn, the ex-CEO of Nissan, the Japanese carmaker, to Lebanon. Ghosn was under house arrest in Japan due to investigation conducted over many charges filed against him related to financial corruption. The Arab News Japan has allocated a section in its electronic website to follow up and report on the latest developments and updates of the case in Japanese. 

Furthermore, the digital Japanese edition of the newspaper has distinguished itself by following the latest coronavirus pandemic developments in the Middle East region by constantly updating the restrictions the pandemic has imposed on many Arab countries in addition to the region’s efforts to limit the spread of the virus.   

Arab News Japan has the advantage of providing a special coverage of the historic peace treaty, recently agreed to by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel. The treaty stipulates that lasting peace and stability should be achieved and the conflicts in the region should come to an end. The newspaper has covered these agreements in Japanese. It also reported on the arrival of the first Israeli plane carrying an American-Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi, days after the announcement of the peace agreement in mid-August this year.