Op-ed by Ambassador entitled “Preparedness Averts Future Worries: Japan’s Vision for Promoting Resilience in a Challenging Environment”
2026/6/3
H.E. Ken Okaniwa, Ambassador of Japan, authored an op-ed entitled “Preparedness Averts Future Worries: Japan’s Vision for Promoting Resilience in a Challenging Environment,” which was published in The National, Khaleej Times, Arab News Japan, and Al Khaleej.
Original Text:
The ongoing situation where trades through the Strait of Hormuz is almost totally disrupted has a grave impact on ensuring energy security and sustaining socio-economic activities in Asian countries including Japan, and many others around the world. Although the current crisis was unpredictable, one lesson is that resilience in the supply chains of critical commodities such as energy must be continuously strengthened in normal times. As the Japanese proverb goes, “preparedness averts future worries.” Japan is able to deal with the shortage by releasing its oil reserves amounting to about eight months of domestic consumption. A portion of the oil being released comes from the joint crude oil stockpile with the UAE.
From the standpoint of securing our supply chains, enhancing resilience of Asian countries with close links to the Japanese economy is equally important. On April 15, following the outbreak of armed conflict between U.S. /Israel and Iran, Japan announced the “Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia” (POWERR Asia). Through approximately USD 10 billion in financial cooperation and related measures, the initiative aims to support Asian countries in strengthening the resilience of supply chains for energy and critical materials. Under this initiative, Japan also seeks to cooperate with the UAE in developing joint crude oil stockpiling arrangements.
These efforts form part of the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP), a vision for international order that Japan has been promoting since 2016. The core principles of FOIP are “freedom,” “openness,” “diversity,” “inclusiveness,” and “the rule of law.” Based on these principles, Japan has promoted various forms of cooperation with like-minded countries in pursuit of international peace and prosperity. In recent years, the free and open international order based on the rule of law has increasingly come under challenges, making the FOIP initiative all the more important. At the same time, this initiative is gaining wider support in the international community.
On May 2, during her visit to Vietnam, Prime Minister Takaichi unveiled “The Updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific” in her foreign policy speech. The purpose is to update FOIP in light of the significant changes in the international environment over the decade since it was first announced. Prime Minister Takaichi emphasized that, in order to realize the vision, it is essential for countries in the region to “increase resilience” and “have freedom to decide for themselves” across the economic, social, and security domains in the challenging environment where countries are interdependent in a complex manner.
To this end, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae expressed her intention to promote both its own efforts and cooperation with partner countries in three priority areas. These three priority areas are important for any country seeking its own security and prosperity.
The first is “building economic infrastructure for the age of AI and data” Specifically, this includes strengthening supply chains for critical materials, protecting and developing AI- and data-related infrastructure, and establishing “safe, secure and trustful” innovation ecosystems. Japan’s “Hiroshima AI Process” promotes the development of international rules for advanced AI systems, including generative AI, from the perspective of “safety, security, and trust.” The UAE, along with other like-minded countries, participates in this framework, and further cooperation is expected in such areas as AI governance, human resource development, and digital infrastructure.
The second is “co-creation of economic growth opportunities through public-private collaboration and rule sharing”. This seeks to continue promoting trade and investment while co-creating business markets through solving challenges in the Global South by leveraging Japanese expertise and technology. In this context, UAE’s economic diplomacy which aims at creating a new economic network linking Asia, the Middle East and Africa through Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) is aligned with FOIP’s emphasis on “connectivity” and “resilience”. The conclusion of the negotiation for Japan-UAE Economic Partnership Agreement in March this year is expected to further cooperation bilaterally and beyond.
The third is the further strengthening of capability in the areas of law enforcement and security. This includes building multilayered security cooperation frameworks, enhancing law enforcement and defense capabilities, and cooperating to strengthen deterrence. Maritime security, in particular, is a critically important element from the perspective of ensuring the security of sea lanes and maintaining international movement of goods. Japan has deployed the Self-Defense Forces for counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, as well as promoted cooperation in the field of maritime law enforcement with the authorities in various countries.
The three priority areas under the Updated FOIP are essential elements for countries seeking to safeguard their security and economic security so as to achieve economic prosperity under today’s international circumstances. The Updated FOIP slogan, “to be more resilient and prosperous together” will be realized through concrete cooperation between Japan and its partners.
As demonstrated by the fact that then-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo first announced FOIP in Kenya a decade ago, this initiative is not a geographically confined concept but rather one that is open to the broader international community. Indeed, the UAE along with other Gulf countries occupies an extremely important geostrategic position as a nexus connecting the Indo-Pacific and Africa, which is particularly relevant to FOIP’s emphasis on “connectivity”.
Particularly with respect to Japan-UAE relations, cooperation is expanding beyond the traditional energy sector into a broad range of fields including AI, space, startups, and defense since 2020 when the two countries elevated their ties under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative (CSPI). The areas in which Japan and the UAE are advancing cooperation overlap significantly with the priority areas of the Updated FOIP, reflecting the UAE’s own policy orientation toward resilience and self-reliance. It is hoped that the current Strait of Hormuz crisis will serve as a turning point for Japan and the UAE to deepen mutual cooperation in enhancing not only our respective resilience and capability to decide our own paths, but also those of Asian countries more broadly. I believe such steady efforts during time of normalcy will undoubtedly prove valuable in times of national crisis.
Links:
The National:
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2026/06/01/the-world-should-turn-the-hormuz-crisis-into-a-catalyst-for-resilience/
Khaleej Times:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/commentary-why-preparedness-matters-most-japans-resilience-lessons-from-hormuz-crisis
Arab News Japan:
https://www.arabnews.jp/en/uncategorized/article_170627/
Al Khaleej:
Original Text:
The ongoing situation where trades through the Strait of Hormuz is almost totally disrupted has a grave impact on ensuring energy security and sustaining socio-economic activities in Asian countries including Japan, and many others around the world. Although the current crisis was unpredictable, one lesson is that resilience in the supply chains of critical commodities such as energy must be continuously strengthened in normal times. As the Japanese proverb goes, “preparedness averts future worries.” Japan is able to deal with the shortage by releasing its oil reserves amounting to about eight months of domestic consumption. A portion of the oil being released comes from the joint crude oil stockpile with the UAE.
From the standpoint of securing our supply chains, enhancing resilience of Asian countries with close links to the Japanese economy is equally important. On April 15, following the outbreak of armed conflict between U.S. /Israel and Iran, Japan announced the “Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia” (POWERR Asia). Through approximately USD 10 billion in financial cooperation and related measures, the initiative aims to support Asian countries in strengthening the resilience of supply chains for energy and critical materials. Under this initiative, Japan also seeks to cooperate with the UAE in developing joint crude oil stockpiling arrangements.
These efforts form part of the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP), a vision for international order that Japan has been promoting since 2016. The core principles of FOIP are “freedom,” “openness,” “diversity,” “inclusiveness,” and “the rule of law.” Based on these principles, Japan has promoted various forms of cooperation with like-minded countries in pursuit of international peace and prosperity. In recent years, the free and open international order based on the rule of law has increasingly come under challenges, making the FOIP initiative all the more important. At the same time, this initiative is gaining wider support in the international community.
On May 2, during her visit to Vietnam, Prime Minister Takaichi unveiled “The Updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific” in her foreign policy speech. The purpose is to update FOIP in light of the significant changes in the international environment over the decade since it was first announced. Prime Minister Takaichi emphasized that, in order to realize the vision, it is essential for countries in the region to “increase resilience” and “have freedom to decide for themselves” across the economic, social, and security domains in the challenging environment where countries are interdependent in a complex manner.
To this end, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae expressed her intention to promote both its own efforts and cooperation with partner countries in three priority areas. These three priority areas are important for any country seeking its own security and prosperity.
The first is “building economic infrastructure for the age of AI and data” Specifically, this includes strengthening supply chains for critical materials, protecting and developing AI- and data-related infrastructure, and establishing “safe, secure and trustful” innovation ecosystems. Japan’s “Hiroshima AI Process” promotes the development of international rules for advanced AI systems, including generative AI, from the perspective of “safety, security, and trust.” The UAE, along with other like-minded countries, participates in this framework, and further cooperation is expected in such areas as AI governance, human resource development, and digital infrastructure.
The second is “co-creation of economic growth opportunities through public-private collaboration and rule sharing”. This seeks to continue promoting trade and investment while co-creating business markets through solving challenges in the Global South by leveraging Japanese expertise and technology. In this context, UAE’s economic diplomacy which aims at creating a new economic network linking Asia, the Middle East and Africa through Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) is aligned with FOIP’s emphasis on “connectivity” and “resilience”. The conclusion of the negotiation for Japan-UAE Economic Partnership Agreement in March this year is expected to further cooperation bilaterally and beyond.
The third is the further strengthening of capability in the areas of law enforcement and security. This includes building multilayered security cooperation frameworks, enhancing law enforcement and defense capabilities, and cooperating to strengthen deterrence. Maritime security, in particular, is a critically important element from the perspective of ensuring the security of sea lanes and maintaining international movement of goods. Japan has deployed the Self-Defense Forces for counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, as well as promoted cooperation in the field of maritime law enforcement with the authorities in various countries.
The three priority areas under the Updated FOIP are essential elements for countries seeking to safeguard their security and economic security so as to achieve economic prosperity under today’s international circumstances. The Updated FOIP slogan, “to be more resilient and prosperous together” will be realized through concrete cooperation between Japan and its partners.
As demonstrated by the fact that then-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo first announced FOIP in Kenya a decade ago, this initiative is not a geographically confined concept but rather one that is open to the broader international community. Indeed, the UAE along with other Gulf countries occupies an extremely important geostrategic position as a nexus connecting the Indo-Pacific and Africa, which is particularly relevant to FOIP’s emphasis on “connectivity”.
Particularly with respect to Japan-UAE relations, cooperation is expanding beyond the traditional energy sector into a broad range of fields including AI, space, startups, and defense since 2020 when the two countries elevated their ties under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative (CSPI). The areas in which Japan and the UAE are advancing cooperation overlap significantly with the priority areas of the Updated FOIP, reflecting the UAE’s own policy orientation toward resilience and self-reliance. It is hoped that the current Strait of Hormuz crisis will serve as a turning point for Japan and the UAE to deepen mutual cooperation in enhancing not only our respective resilience and capability to decide our own paths, but also those of Asian countries more broadly. I believe such steady efforts during time of normalcy will undoubtedly prove valuable in times of national crisis.
Links:
The National:
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2026/06/01/the-world-should-turn-the-hormuz-crisis-into-a-catalyst-for-resilience/
Khaleej Times:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/commentary-why-preparedness-matters-most-japans-resilience-lessons-from-hormuz-crisis
Arab News Japan:
https://www.arabnews.jp/en/uncategorized/article_170627/
Al Khaleej: