‘Japan eyeing anti-terror cooperation with Jordan’

TOKYO — Jordan can be a “good candidate” for Japan’s exchange programme that seeks to promote moderation among teachers and scholars as means to counter terrorism, according to a Japanese official said.

In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, Shingo Miyamoto, the director of the International Safety and Security Cooperation Division at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the exchange programme has been operating in Indonesia over the past 10 years, citing plans to expand it to other countries.

The programme, which will start in Malaysia this year, allows schoolteachers and Muslim scholars to visit Japan and receive training sessions on boosting moderate values in their societies.

“Seeing Japan could be a very good way for Muslims to have an alternative view of the world,” Miyamoto said, noting that Japan is an advanced country that maintains its traditional values and culture.

A testimonial of a Muslim teacher who took part in this programme highlighted great similarities between Islamic teachings and Japanese values and traditions. The programme allows participants to learn to apply religious values in real life the way they are applied in Japan.

“You can go after the terrorist, but the problem will not go away… the important thing is to strengthen the moderate part of society rather than alienate the radical ones,” Miyamoto noted.

Through this programme, Japanese people are able to meet Muslim participants to have a better understanding of the reality, which is different from the image depicted by media propaganda, the official highlighted.

“Japan and Jordan have always had good relations,” he noted, citing similar efforts by the two countries to promote peace in their regions.

“We want to promote a society where moderate people with moderate views have a bigger impact on what happens,” he said.

It is very difficult to identify the causes of terrorism, said the official, adding that extremist groups like Daesh utilise the Internet to promote their propaganda, giving an international dimension to the issue. 

“It is very hard to say that if you have a better society, a growing economy, higher levels of education that [terrorism] is going to disappear; probably not,” he said, noting that it is still important for everyone around the world to experience a kind of prosperity and well-being.

Japan’s foreign policy in response to terrorism includes strengthening counterterrorism measures, enhancing diplomacy towards stability in the Middle East, and providing assistance in creating societies that are resilient to radicalisation.

Japan has developed surveillance technologies for the detection of explosives and toxic materials, Miyamoto said.

Furthermore, he called on countries to utilise existing resources to enhance security across borders, such as using INTERPOL’s information database.