MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016

l if e st yleF E A T U R E S

Diving ladies holding Kuwaiti FlagsHead of Amokaya seafood restaurant Kazihiro Nimora and his wife Kaworo

By Mohammed Bassam Al-Husseini

Japan is a maritime countrymade up of more than 6,800islands. It is deep-rooted in

history and enjoys a beautiful cli-mate with four seasons, withsomething in each that calls forcelebration, so festivals andevents are on all year long, fromcelebrating springtime and theappearance of cherry blossoms tothe rice planting and harvestingseasons.

It is the country of art, culture,theater, haiku poems and Zen sto-ries.

Judo cityWe traveled from Tokyo south

to Tenri through Kyoto station.This city has many landmarks, andis most notable for being the cap-ital of judo, which was introducedto the Olympics when Tokyo host-ed it in 1964, with the support ofShozen Nakayama, the guide ofthe Tenrikyo religion and adescendant of its founder. It is arecent religion that appeared inthe city in 1863, and calls for for-giveness, cooperation and happi-ness. Tenri hosts the largest tem-ple of this religion, which hasnearly two million followersaround the world today. It alsohas one of the most importantshrines of the Shinto religionwhich is widespread in the coun-try - the Isonokami shrine - which

is on the national heritage list ofthe most important sites in Japan.

The city is home to a presti-gious university with a very richmuseum attached to it that hasmore than 280,000 pieces includ-ing 30,000 ethnographic piecesfrom abroad, especially neighbor-ing countries, and 250,000 fromJapan. It also has 26,000 archaeo-logical pieces. The museum is vis-ited by nearly 55,000 people eachyear, and portrays the histories ofJapan, China, Korea and Taiwan inan enjoyable manner. The muse-um is characterized by prestigeand good organization, distribu-tion of displays and identifyingthem clearly and easily.

We left Tenri for neighboringNara to visit the Todaiji Buddhisttemple, which has one of thelargest statues of the Buddha inthe world, in a magnificent halland beautiful building. Visitorswill come across herds of deer ontheir way to the temple, thatcome close to the fence to be fed.We stayed at Nikko Nara hotel,which is the most famous hotel inthe city.

The G7 summitWe traveled from Nara to Ise-

Shima and more precisely toShima Kanko hotel and resortwhich will host the G7 Summit ofthe major seven economies in theworld on May 26 and 27, 2016.

The hotel has two buildings -one historical that goes back to

1951 and witnessed manyJapanese-American meetingsafter World War II. The more mod-ern building contains 49 presti-gious suites of 100 sq m and aFrench restaurant. The hotel over-looks a beautiful panoramic sceneof the island, surrounded byforests and the ocean, making itone of the most beautiful hotelsin the world with its location,which made the Japanese gov-ernment approve it for the G7Summit.

A visitor to Ise-Shima must visitneighboring Toba, a region con-sidered important for its level offood quality and distinguisheddishes served in Japan, making itan attractive stop by visitors fromvarious countries, and Asian onesin particular, even Muslims, as alarge number of this city’s hotelsand restaurants pay attention tohalal food standards and provideall necessary services to facilitatewudu and prayers, besides pro-viding an integrated tourist pro-gram for them in the city, which isa center to farm oysters andpearls, besides algae and sea-weed used in Japanese dishes.

We went through rich experi-ences during the visit to bothToba and Ise-Shima. We beganour tour with the Satu Company’soyster farming factory, where wemet its president. Oysters arecalled milk of the sea due to theirrich benefits. The Satu factoryproduces one million oysters per

year, considered of the highestquality in the local market. MrSatu inherited this professionfrom his grandfather, the founderof the factory, which we touredand followed the water steriliza-tion process using light in itspurification. We also toured oysterfarming sites by boat, whichremain for one year in the seabefore collecting and cleaningthem.

Diving ladiesThe next exciting experience

was at Amokaya seafood restau-rant, which as soon as it learnedthat a Kuwaiti newspaper will visitit, welcomed us with Kuwaiti flagsheld by women who are profes-sional divers and collect seashellsof various types, even rare andexpensive ones, as well as lobster,and personally preserve hundredsof years of heritage in Japan.

The diving ladies display theirway of fishing to visitors in theirtraditional uniforms, then grill theshells and fish on a large charcoalgrill, to serve it fresh to the visi-tors. Restaurant owner KazihiroNimora and his wife Kaworo per-sonally serve guests, especially ifthey are from a Muslim country,and provide wudu and prayernecessities for them.

There is a fertile piece of landnear Toba that is huge and hasforests and freshwater and cradlesthe Ise-Jingu shrine, whichbelongs to the Shinto religion,

which goes back to the eighthcentury. The shrine attractsaround five million visitors eachyear, and the shrine is relocatedevery 20 years in a tradition thataims at providing generationswith experience to continuebuilding shrines. At the entranceof Ise-Jingu is a bridge that is thelongest wooden bridge in Japan,spanning more than 100 m.

The municipality has estab-lished a neighborhood with a her-itage style called Ogaki, in whichtens of shops sell the mostfamous local dishes and besthandicrafts. We enjoyed eatingsweets made from rice and sugarfrom the prestigious AkavoKumutshi sweetshop.

Tenri and Nara: Cities of history and religionJapan: A great nation PART - 2

One of Sankuran Musium chambers in Tenri

Isonokami shrine

Ogaki neighborhood

Famous Shinto Shrine in Nara Temple Tenriko religion in Tenri Todaiji Buddhist temple

President of Satu oyster farming factory

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The museum is visitedby nearly 55,000 peo-ple each year, andportrays the historiesof Japan, China, Koreaand Taiwan in anenjoyable manner.

Ise-Shima Island

As part of the tourschedule in Tokyo,we visited two of

the most importantresearch and study insti-tutes in Japan that con-tribute to formulating thecountry’s strategies andinfluencing decisions. Thefirst was the JapanResearch Institute, wherewe met its directorFahumira Nishizaki, who isa specialized economist,and we discussed withhim what is known as the“Abenomics” strategy,pointing to the project ofthe current Prime MinisterShinzo Abe to get thecountry out of depression,which is a strategy basedon three approaches:

1- Aggressive financialpolicies that aim at quali-tative and quantitativechange in the currencymass and facilities thatlead to targeted inflationof 2 percent that endsdeflation that restricts theeconomy.

2- Adopt a flexible taxpolicy, with incentives

when necessary andfriendly tax programs forinvestment.

3- Adopt a growthstrategy that encouragesthe private sector.

The Japanese societyfaces in addition to thechallenges in the near andintermediate terms, a larg-er challenge in the longterm, which is a decline inpopulation growth, whichmeans a lack of new mar-kets for investmentgrowth.

The drop is explainedby the number of facto-

ries in the country facingtwo things to meet theshortage in the balance ofpayments - either to boostJapanese investmentsabroad, which brings for-eign currency, or encour-age people to producemore babies. There arecalls to expand the mar-ketplace to encouragewomen to join, createnew job opportunitiesand buy shares in compa-nies, while encouragingincreasing wages andinvestments.

We also visited the

Japan Institute for MiddleEastern Studies, where wemet the vice president ofthe institute and CEO,Ambassador TakishiKagami, who was theJapanese ambassador toSyria, and associateresearcher TakoyaMurakami, where wespoke about the role ofthe institute and its viewon the region’s develop-ments and importance ofresearch in directing andguiding government poli-cies and orientate foreigninvestors.

Walking on a tata-mi carpet, sleep-ing on futon

beds and eating tradition-al Japanese cuisine inJapanese halls and get-ting a Japanese bath areall possible at theKaigetsu Inn, which is asmall hotel in Toba, whichis famous for its islands,and has four floors and 13rooms. It is run by KukiIzaki, assisted by hermother in running it andreceiving guests, and herpartner Aiwa Saki Ori andtheir assistant Duwaindafrom Indonesia, whoworked hard until shetransformed the hotel to afriendly place for Muslimvisitors, according tocleanliness and food.

The inn, besides resi-dence, provides a touristprogram with 30 activities

such as sea trips, discov-ery of islands, fishing, div-ing, trekking in forests andkayaking. Izaki hasreceived awards for “themost active woman” and

“best development of thesociety in 2008 and 2010”for her efforts to combinepreserving heritage andcaring for the environ-ment at the same time.

Kaigetsu Inn is among thehotels equipped toreceive Muslim tourists bypaying attention to halalfood and wudu andprayer areas.

The number of visi-tors to Japanbetween 2013 and

2015 increased from 10 to20 million, 5 million fromChina alone, followed by 4million from South Korea,3.6 million from Taiwan,1.5 million from HongKong, one million fromthe US, 800,000 fromThailand and 380,000from Australia. This iswhat the head ofInternational TourismDivision at the JapaneseTourism AuthorityYazowaki Shimida told us,and gave a detailed expla-nation with numbers.

Japan recordedincreasing numbers of vis-itors from all directionsincluding Europe, asRussians topped the list in2015 with 500,000 visitors,then the British with260,000 followed by theFrench with 210,000,Germans with 160,000and Italians with 100,000.

As for the Middle Eastregion’s countries, thenumbers are still minimal,though they are on theincrease, as in 2014, thenumber of visitors fromKuwait increased to 1,963,6,403 from Saudi Arabia,3,973 from UAE and14,766 from Turkey.

Many reasons, besidesbusiness and investment,are considered attractionsto visit Japan, headed byshopping in a countrywhose industries are con-sidered among the best inthe world, and food, asJapanese food is the bestaccording to many in theworld. Also, visiting touristattractions and enjoyingnatural hot water springsduring the four seasons,particularly in volcanicareas, besides having alook at the customs andtraditions of the Japanesepeople and joining themin some of them, includ-ing hot water baths.

This increasing growthin tourist visits to Japanbrings it major incomethat was over •2 trillion in2014. In 2014, accordingto Leisure magazine,Kyoto came in first placein the world among themost important touristiccities in a list that includesthe US’ Charleston,Bangkok, Rome and

Barcelona.Japanese officials are

focusing on attractinglarger numbers of touristsfrom the Muslim worldand encouraging themthrough paying attentionto several importantneeds of the Muslimtourist, especially withregards to providing halalfood, cleanliness(taharah), facilitatingprayers and guiding signs.

This is confirmed byincreasing interest of thegovernment in educatingcitizens and workers inhotels on how to dealwith Muslim tourists, andpictures of veiled ladiesand Muslim families havebegun to appear intourism posters in thecountry. Also, the princi-ple of halal food is wide-spread and there areexplanations on it andhow to benefit fromMuslim residents in thisfield.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016

l if e st yleF E A T U R E S

Fahumira Nishizaki Takishi Kagami Takoya Murakami

In his mid-thirties, KinNamikawa was electedmayor of Tenri, which is

adjacent to Nara, with itsimportant religious andscientific characteristics, tobecome the youngestelected mayor. He com-bines the enthusiasm ofyouth and diplomacywhich he learned from hisexperience as a diplomatin Egypt, where he stud-ied, as well as the well-known Japanese ingenu-ity.

He welcomed us warm-ly in his office at the city’smunicipality, as heaffirmed his determinationto strengthen its presenceon the international mapdue to its historical andtouristic assets, and forbeing home to an impor-tant university. Namikawasaid the first of his goal isto implement the strategyof the government todevelop areas and limitmigration from surround-ing areas to the capitaland major cities throughproviding residents withjob opportunities.

He said that somemajor goals must be char-acterized by ambition,change and being awayfrom routine, so he starteda new experiment forremotely working throughthe Internet, so that youthcan participate in a certainproject wherever they aregeographically.

Most companies in thecity are small and midsize,and find it difficult to findsuitable workers due tomigration, as well as the

presence of graduate stu-dents who do not get suit-able opportunities. It isgood to establish a jobcenter that harmonizesthe needs of all and haveits goals aim at the city’sinterests, besides otherprojects such as greeningan empty yard near the

station in agreement withresidents and owners, saidNamikawa.

Namikawa, who followsthe Tenrikyo religionwhich started in the cityabout 179 years ago, usedthe saying “God only helpsthose who helps them-selves”, so the human

being must work hard,and God likes those whohelp others. Namikawafinds multiculturalism asan opportunity tostrengthen dialogue andnot divide. He said the cityand Japan in general arean example to be taken inthe field.

Japan: A great nation PART - 2

Rise in the number of tourists visiting Japan from

10 to 20 million in three years

Head of InternationalTourism at the Japanese

Tourism OrganizationYazowaki Shimida

Youngest mayor and largest ambition

Kuki Izaki, Aiwa Saki Ori and their assistant Duwainda

Explore the Japanese experiment

Mayor of the Tenri City receives Managing Editor Mohammad Al-Hussaini

Major role for research institutes

Road to recovery: Japan’s victoryover the largest earthquake in its history

In March 11, 2011, Japanwas rocked by the largestearthquake in its history,

and was followed by tsuna-mi waves that caused exten-sive destruction in Tohoku.The catastrophe becameworse with the meltdown ofthe Fukushima nuclear reac-tor. The quake and tsunamiresulted in 15,893 killed,2,565 missing and 6,512injured. Around 1.126 mil-lion homes were damaged,including around 122,000homes totally destroyed.The total losses were esti-mated at •22 trillion (around$280 billion).

In order to deal with theincident and ensure aid to alarge number of residents ofareas hit by the quake andtsunami, the Japanese gov-ernment established a spe-cial body called theReconstruction Authority to

carry out this mission andrestore things to their nor-mal situation amidstdomestic and internationalfears.

Al-Anbaa visited theauthority’s premises, andwas received by media andinternational affairs advisorShinia Fujita, who spokeabout its achievements, themost important of which isthe removal of apprehen-sions of many countries thatstopped importingJapanese products, particu-larly food, out of fear of radi-ation.

Studies confirmed thatthe percentage of radiationin Tokyo and Fukushima isless than in cities like NewYork and Seoul, and thisprompted 16 countriesincluding Canada, Australiaand Malaysia to lift allrestrictions on Japanese

imports, while some coun-tries, including the US andKuwait, continue to ask forcertificates before import-ing, which Fujita said is nolonger necessary. Thenuclear accident has beencontained, vast surroundingareas around it werecleaned, and work is stillgoing on in this field. Hesaid most houses, fishingdocks, gardens and schoolswere built within 4.5 yearsalong with other facilitiesthat were destroyed by thequake, and this led to thereduction of the number ofthose seeking shelter from470,000 to 180,000.

Fujita explained that therole of the authority is notonly to reconstruct, but alsoin creating a healthy envi-ronment and providing theinfrastructure and fields oflife and work for those

returning. The problem thatfaced the government wasin that investors and citizenswere exchanging roles withregards to who takes thefirst step to return - theinvestor to create opportu-nities that encourage thecitizen to return to hisregion, or return of the citi-zens to attract investors. Sothe government, throughthe authority, plugged thishole and pushed thingspositively forward.

Fujita tanked Kuwait as itwas among the first to helpthrough its oil grant, whichis still in the memory of theJapanese today. The Japanexperience with reconstruc-tion proves the tremendousability of the Japanese peo-ple to rise and marchstronger, to always be theexample that should be fol-lowed in the world.