Among the many similarities between Israel and Taiwan is the warm friendship both have had with former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
“A fierce and distinguished leader and a key architect of modern Israel-Japan relations,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said following Abe’s assassination on July 8.
Although diplomatic relations between Israel and Japan have existed since 1952, Abe was the prime minister who really pushed them forward to become much more strategic and comprehensive.
Abe visited Israel twice, in 2015 and in 2018. On both occasions he arrived with dozens of senior government and business representatives. I myself had the honor to accompany him on his second visit to Israel, a visit that immensely reflected the great development of Israel’s bilateral relations with Japan under his leadership.
Abe was very much impressed by Israel’s innovative spirit and technological capabilities, and encouraged the Japanese private sector to invest in Israel. He instructed his government to sign no less than 16 agreements with Israel in four years: investments, science, cyberinnovation, agriculture, industrial research and development (R&D), and much more, were among the issues these agreements have covered.
During and after his term as prime minister, almost 100 Japanese firms opened R&D and investment centers in Israel. Japanese annual investment in Israeli hi-tech firms jumped from US$200 million in 2014 to US$3 billion last month. Israel and Japan became intimate partners in innovation and creativity, sharing the same technological vision for the benefit of humanity.
Abe saw great importance in bolstering tourism between Israel and Japan, and promoted the launch of the first direct flight between Tel Aviv and Tokyo, which was scheduled for March 2020, but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abe also appreciated deeply relations with the Jewish people and cultivated solid ties with many Jewish organizations around the world. He appointed, for the first time, a special adviser for Jewish affairs; he promoted the remembrance of Japanese Righteous Among the Nations Chiune Sugihara, who saved Jews during the Holocaust, and visited important Jewish sites such as the Holocaust Museum in Washington and the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam.
Israel will forever remember Abe as a true friend and a genuine partner. May his soul rest in peace.
Omer Caspi is the representative of Israel in Taiwan.
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