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Palestinian envoy welcomes Japan as ideal mediator

29 Oct 2019 05:10:06 GMT9
29 Oct 2019 05:10:06 GMT9

Ali Itani, Tokyo

Japan could be an ideal mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as the country has been the occupier and the occupied at different points in time, said the Palestinian ambassador to Japan.

“They (Japan) understand both sides. They know how it feels,” Waleed Siam, who is also the dean of Arab ambassadors to Japan, told Arab News Japan in an exclusive interview.

“I welcome the recent survey conducted by YouGov for Arab News, which revealed that 56 percent of Arabs believe that Japan would be the ideal mediator in peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine,” said Siam, who applauded the findings and described the survey as “factual.” Arabs should trust Japan as an ideal mediator because it would be “very honest,” he added.

Siam said the Japanese people do not discriminate against Arabs or Muslims. “Japan has high respect for Islam because they’re well educated. They’re not Islamophobic,” he added.

Siam said after the 1993 Oslo Accords, Japan joined the international community of donors to Palestine in 1994 and is now the third-largest donor.

Given that Japan was able to rebuild itself after World War II and become one of the largest economies in the world, “I always say if we learn only 5 percent of what the Japanese know, I think Arab countries would be more advanced,” he added.

In the recent YouGov survey conducted for Arab News, 61 percent of Arabs see the Japanese people as hardworking.

“The Japanese worker always comes on time to his job, and doesn’t leave until he finishes what he has to do,” Siam said.

The number of Japanese visiting Arab countries is higher than Arabs visiting Japan, he added, emphasizing the need to encourage Arabs to visit the country, learn from its experience and see it as a model.

With the 2020 Olympics fast approaching, Japan is adapting in order to accommodate visitors. “English speakers are now in taxis and in stores,” Siam said.

With the halal industry growing in Japan, Arabs will “feel at home when they visit,” he added. “If you go to the airport or train stations, you can see that they have dedicated areas for prayer. Halal food is also available in many places.”

Siam said in the years he has been in Japan, he has seen a rise in Arab airlines going there, such as Etihad, Emirates and Egypt Air.

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