Information Matters

The hostage crisis in Algeria ironically reminded us of Japan as a peaceful country. In spite of consecutive crises in Middle East and North Africa for decades, the government of Japan has not established information network in the region. This crisis also revealed a loophole for protecting Japanese citizens in foreign country. Announcing fighting terrorism not only increased enemy, but necessity of readiness for dealing with unexpected crisis.

Japan has generally been distant from conflicts in the region. We have no history of imperialism toward the Arab world. With those traditions, Japan could have build good relations up with the nations there. But the hostage crisis revealed that we have no friend to inform us of what actually was going on.

“Having fewer foreign service personnel than America and Europe, Japan is weak in getting information from the Arab world,” told Nobuo Ishihara, former deputy cabinet chief secretary at the time of Gulf War in 1991, in an interview of Tokyo Shimbun. “The government has not taken good advantage of the lessons we learned over twenty years ago,” he insisted.

Communication with the government of Algeria was not sufficient. Not only obtained information of hostage rescue operation in advance, the government of Japan has been blind about how many Japanese had rescued, injured or killed. With shortage of reports from In Amenas, where assaulted natural gas plant exists, families of hostages are extremely frustrated.

The terrorists attack has reportedly been planned before the France’s intervention to disorder in Mali, neighbor of Algeria, early this month. It is fair to say that Japan had not well prepared for terrorist attack derived from the conflict in Mali, while not sure whether the victims could have avoided the terrorists’ assault, if any warning was brought to them. But even a small hint leaked from terrorist network may help. What is lacking for Japan is building networks by trading information with foreigners. Is it too much to say that Japanese business had to pay high cost as a compensation for its heavy dependence on America security?

In terms of urging the Algerian government to release appropriate information, it seems to have been necessary for Japanese government to send officers in higher class than Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minoru Kiuchi, in Algiers now. Independent infrastructure for communication, such as telephone through satellite, may needed for emergency.

The discussion inside Japan is as out of point as usual. Expansionists of Japanese force raised an argument of reviewing Japan Self-Defense Force Act, which set a condition of its rescue operation to be limited to where transportation is secured. To exercise what the government has been wanting by grabbing an opportunity, even a human tragedy, is the Japanese way. What they need to do is not providing Japanese troops to foreign country, but appropriate information to Japanese citizens overseas.