KUALA LUMPUR – Reviving people-to-people exchange between Japan and Malaysia, which has been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, is a top priority for Katsuhiko Takahashi, the new Japanese ambassador to Malaysia.
Anticipating such enhanced exchanges to take place once conditions permit, new Japanese technology could come to Malaysia to further boost the "very solid base" in both nations’ economic relations, he said in an interview after completing his home quarantine following his arrival to take up his new appointment.
“I want to strengthen these economic relations further, add more fields of cooperation, and deepen the degree of cooperation."
Takahashi also expressed his keenness in meeting as many Malaysians as possible to hear their views on Japan and discuss the way forward.
Beyond economic ties, such exchanges would also focus on culture and political education.
“There are a lot of areas where we can work together, so I want to identify specific areas once I start to mingle with Malaysians,” Takahashi said.
Prior to his latest appointment, the 58-year-old diplomat was director-general of Middle Eastern and African Affairs in the Foreign Ministry. He also served as the Japanese ambassador and special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Takahashi said that prior to his arrival, he visited major Japanese companies conducting business in Malaysia to find out whether they had any problems operating in the country.
“To my surprise, no company said that there is a serious problem. This is a very happy thing for us to note. Therefore, my work will be on how to improve existing good relations.
“There are 30,000 Japanese living in Malaysia. We also have more than 26,000 Malaysians who have studied in Japan under the Look East Policy.
“They are assets to bilateral relations between the two countries, so I'm really lucky to have such strong assets even before starting my career as the ambassador here,” added Takahashi.
However, while Japanese companies continued to invest in Malaysia throughout the years following good profits they made in the country, they were also expecting greater local incentives so they could make further investments, he said.
Shifting from the traditional core sectors of electronic and electrical manufacturing, Japanese companies are exploring new areas such as renewable energy and climate change.
The 1,500 Japanese companies in Malaysia have so far created 400,000 jobs, with the number expected to grow in the coming years, said Takahashi.
On education, he said the demand from Malaysians to study in Japan remains strong.
However, Japan's efforts would also focus on the tourism sector, where before the pandemic, the number of Malaysians visiting Japan was more than the Japanese visiting Malaysia.
“So I really want to normalise these relations and try to increase visitors from Malaysia to Japan as much as possible once the situation allows this."
He also gave an update on Japan's plans to set up a branch campus of Tsukuba University here, which is set to become the first ever foreign branch campus of a Japanese university.
“It is still a work in progress, but discussions are progressing well and the university is expected to make an official announcement on their latest developments.”
On a personal note, Takahashi admitted that being an expert on the Middle East, his posting to Malaysia came as a surprise.
However, he noted that there are many commonalities between Malaysia and the Middle East.
“I expect being an ambassador here (in Malaysia) to be challenging. However, I am looking forward to this posting.” – Bernama, December 8, 2021
