Key Points
- Outgoing Ambassador Gilad Cohen highlights the strengthening of Israel-Japan relations over his five-year term, emphasizing shared democratic values and ancient traditions.
- Cohen identifies key areas for future growth, including the realization of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), increased direct flights, and collaboration in high-tech sectors like AI and semiconductors.
- The Ambassador expresses deep gratitude for Japan’s support following the October 7 attacks and reflects on the history of mutual aid, citing Israel’s assistance during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
- Despite regional security challenges, Cohen remains optimistic about Israel’s economic resilience, noting its high GDP per capita and commitment to expanding peace in the Middle East.
Full Transcript (English)
Host: Thank you very much. The time has come, so we would like to begin the press conference. Our guest today is Ambassador Gilad Cohen, Israeli Ambassador to Japan.
Guest (Gilad Cohen): Thank you for having me. Good evening. I would like to extend my gratitude to the JNPC for hosting me for the fourth time. This is the last time for me as Ambassador in Japan. We’ve been through a long way in these past five years, and I thank you all for coming and listening to me.
Five years ago, I was Director General for Asia and the Pacific in the Foreign Ministry of Israel. I had the opportunity to ask for a country to serve as Ambassador, and I chose Japan. I have never regretted this choice. I’m happy and privileged that I came to this wonderful country to serve here. These were the most meaningful, interesting, and enriching years of my diplomatic career.
I came to Japan during COVID-19; it was very challenging. Shortly afterwards, Israel experienced the war and the horrific terrorist attack of October 7, followed by attacks from seven fronts. It’s been a challenging time for us and for me personally. Nevertheless, I had the privilege to work with the government of Japan, with different agencies, Japanese society and governance, with Diet members, the commercial sector, businessmen, academia, culture, and the governors of Japan in so many prefectures. I also worked with mayors, other ambassadors, and of course with you, the Japanese press, and I thank you for that.
I want to thank the JNPC for opening the way for me to express my views and try to explain to the Japanese public the Israeli perspective. You asked me not always the easiest questions, but it was good. I tried to answer as much as I could the toughest questions. I hope that I was successful in trying to present to you Israel’s views, Israeli society, and the Israeli voice of the people living in our country.
I also learned in Japan. I fell in love with Japan. I had the privilege to know it not only through the diplomatic world but through life itself. During these five years, I learned to appreciate Japanese culture, Japanese modesty, the attention to detail, the perfection, and the patience. Sometimes we in Israel are in lack of patience. I think that the more I understood and learned about Japan, the more I understood why Israel and Japan can and should complement each other. Israel and Japan are two democracies, two ancient societies with a deep respect for tradition, which continues to shape our present and future.
We want to do things together. We can do things together, and we will do things together for the betterment of Japan, Israel, and for the future of the world. Japan brings its capabilities in manufacturing, quality, excellence, trust, and vision. Israel can bring innovation, R&D, and entrepreneurship. We are the “Startup Nation.” I think we can do amazing things together. I just came here from a meeting with an Israeli and Japanese company. The Japanese company is named SORA Technology, and the Israeli company is named Zmart. What they do together is combine the technology of drones and satellites to detect ponds and places where malaria mosquitoes can breed. They are doing an amazing job together in Africa. In the places they work, they reduced malaria by 53%. This is an example of how we can work together.
Another example is an Israeli company named ZutaCore, which is cooperating with Mitsubishi Electric and SoftBank. Together, they find solutions on how to reduce energy consumption in data centers. So, I think that we can do a lot more on technology, on AI, critical minerals, health, water, agriculture, energy, climate, and defense. I hope that we can also have innovation centers on Japanese soil that will bring together Israeli and Japanese entrepreneurs to work together.
I think it’s not only the government or the private sector cooperation but also people-to-people. I think we can work to bring the people closer together. We have direct flights now, and Japan has become the number one destination for Israelis. Many tourists want to come. I hope to have tourists from Japan, businessmen, and investments coming from Japan to Israel. I will leave Japan, but I will always have part of my heart in Japan.
As I would like to talk about what we did before, I want also to talk about the potential in the relations. You can see in this slide the long way we’ve taken together since 1952 when we established the relations. Next year, we are going to commemorate and celebrate 75 years of Japan-Israel relations. You can see some major points, for example, Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Israel in 2015 and also the industrial R&D cooperation. You can see that in 2022, the EPA study group was finalized, and there was a recommendation to have a Free Trade Agreement between Japan and Israel. It’s good for the two economies. You can see that Israel came to participate in Expo 2025 and many more developments. You can see the development of the relations and so many agreements have been signed throughout the years. It shows that governments come and go, we have ups and downs, but the pace is steady. Relations between Japan and Israel go up, and there is continuity in those relations despite obstacles that sometimes occur.
We say that a friend in need is a friend indeed, and Japan was a true friend to Israel. After October 7, Japan stood by Israel, said that Israel has the right to defend itself under international law, condemned Hamas, put designations on its head, and called for the immediate release of the hostages. In 2011, Israel came to assist Japan in Tohoku after the earthquake and tsunami. We were among the first countries that came and stayed with our field hospital in this area. I think these are only examples of how we stood by each other in our worst hours.
I hope to see in the future more progress in the relations. We have so many fields to cover, and I hope that we can have more connections, more visits by leaders, more trade, more investments, more tourism, and more connections between the people. We have direct flights by El Al. Soon, Arkia, an Israeli airline, will fly to Tokyo directly. I hope other companies will fly in the future and will connect the countries. I hope that when the time comes, in the near future, there will be a reduction of the travel advisory to Israel after things calm down. I hope to see, and we will be very happy to welcome, Prime Minister Takaichi to come to visit Israel. The last Prime Minister that came to Israel was the late Prime Minister Abe, who came in 2018. We would be very honored and happy to have Prime Minister Takaichi coming to Israel. Japan can and should play an important role in the Middle East, contributing to peace, to the economy, and to cooperation and stability. Israel wants to advance peace and cooperation with its neighbors. We’ve done it with Egypt, with Jordan, with United Arab Emirates, with Bahrain, with Morocco, and we would like to expand the circle of peace.
Now, after I spoke about relations between the countries, maybe we can move to the next slide. I just want to talk to you a bit about something that doesn’t always get to the headlines in Japan but shows what Israel really is. The GDP per capita in Israel is about $60,000, and you see it’s rising. It shows that Israel has succeeded in being one of the most advanced economies in the world, and it shows also the resilience of the Israeli economy despite the war, despite the challenges, despite the attacks. You can see the Israeli economy, how it thrives, and despite this very complicated reality, we can continue building and investing and looking to the future.
