Olmert in Tokyo

When foreign heads of state or government make official visits to Japan, as a form of customary greeting, the flags of such state are flown together with the Japanese flag up and down the main streets of Kasumigaseki, the heart of bureaucratic Japan and where Curzon happens to work. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is currently in Japan for the first visit by an Israeli head of government since Rabin’s visit in 1994. Noticing the unusual combination of flags, I shot the picture below while out of the office.

You can see another recent example here, shot by Younghusband last year.

Although the US is chummy-chummy with both nations, Israel and Japan have cool ties. Due to Japan’s scarcity of natural resources, in particular petroleum, Japan’s trade relations with Arab nations and Iran take precedence over those with Israel. And consequently, Japan’s lack of close ties to Israel contribute to its popular image in the Arab Middle East. Japan also receives about 1/5th of its oil imports from Iran, although that relationship is cooling as Tehran strives for nuclear weapons.

However, Japan and Israel have mild historical relations as Japan has never been anti-Semitic in its politics despite its Nazi alliance (see the “Fugu plan“). And to quote Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom from a 2005 speech: “We are both ancient peoples who have risen from the ashes of the Second World War to build on the platform of our ancient cultures thriving, successful and advanced societies.” Very true.