Japan’s Ambassador to Pakistan
His Excellency, Mr. Wada Mitsuhiro, is the current Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan since November 2021. He is a career diplomat and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1983. Since then, he served his country on many diplomatic fronts including as Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau and Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department; Minister, Embassy of Japan in the People’s Republic of China; Assistant Director-General, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau; Secretary-General; Secretariat for PALM7; Assistant Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, MOFA; Consul-General of Japan in Detroit (Michigan and Ohio); Consul-General (Ambassador) of Japan in Hong Kong; First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva; Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in Indonesia and also remained on many other important diplomatic assignments.
Mr. Wada Mitsuhiro did M.A in Asian Studies from University of California, Berkeley (1987) and L.L.B, Department of Law, University of Tokyo (1983). He is happily married to Naoko and they have two children.
Following are the excerpts of his interview with The Economic Affairs;
The Economic Affairs: Thank you for giving this opportunity. Excellency, you recently assumed the charge as ambassador of Japan to Pakistan. What was your perception about Pakistan before coming here and what did you feel afterward?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: I’m very much honored to be appointed as the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan. I had a certain image of Pakistan before arriving here, because I had visited Pakistan several times, long time ago including during the 2005 earthquake. But after experiencing my first long-term stay in Pakistan, I feel excited as every day is a series of new learning. Through contacts with many Pakistanis, I am glad to experience the kind and gentle personality of Pakistanis and to feel their high interest, affinity and friendship with Japan.
Pakistan is not well known in Japan. For example, it is not well known for Japanese people that heritage sites such as Gandhara and Mohenjo-daro are located in Pakistan, and that Biryani, which is popular in Japan recently, is a Pakistani dish. There is a perception gap between the two countries, which I think needs to be filled.
The Economic Affairs: Excellency, Pakistan and Japan are celebrating 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Could you please like to shed light on the rich history of relationship of 70 years?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Japan and Pakistan established diplomatic relations on April 28, 1952. Since then, the relationship has been tied up with a strong bond. Despite various political and economic changes over the years, the mutually-beneficial ties continue to grow.
In the postwar period, Japan’s high economic growth was largely supported by Pakistan. After World War II, Japan became a defeated country and lost almost everything, and it was the textile industry that became a foothold for reconstruction. It’s Pakistan, which lifted the ban on raw cotton exports to Japan earlier than any other country, and it saved Japan after the war in terms of obtaining raw materials to support the textile industry.
At that time, Japan was in a very difficult situation to do business with China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asian countries due to problems such as postwar reparations, but Pakistan had no obstacles to trade with Japan. As a result, the Japanese textile industry has grown to coincide with the expansion of both domestic and external markets, and Japan has been able to ride the wave of high growth.
Pakistan is one of Japan’s important partners in foreign economic assistance. Since the start of aid to Pakistan in 1954, Japan has provided Official Development Assistance (ODA) worth 1.35 trillion yen (in current value of Rs 2.07 trillion / $ 11.7 Billion). This is the second largest among the bilateral donor countries which provide assistance to Pakistan.
In 68 years of history, the development of economic infrastructure through large-scale ODA loans such as the Kohat Tunnel, Indus Highway, and Steel Loop Bridge on National Highway 70, is known as a symbol of Japan’s assistance. There are also many other examples of our achievements, including PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Science, Islamabad), 6 weather radars (Meteorological observation network) covering more than 80% of the land and 90% of the population, and improvement of safe water supply and sanitation that benefits more than 6 million people.
In cooperation with the Pakistani side, we use this year as a momentum to further strengthen Japan-Pakistan relations in many fields such as politics, economy, business, culture and people-to-people exchanges. We are planning many events including the online Japanese Film Festival in February.
On the economic front, we are planning to hold a Japan-Pakistan Government Business Joint Dialogue and a seminar to promote two-way trade and investment in the first half of this year. Although, we are still suffering from the problems of the Covid pandemic, we hope that high level visits between the two countries will be realized when conditions permit.
The Economic Affairs: Since the establishment of diplomatic relations on 28th April 1952, Pakistan-Japan bilateral relations have steadily progressed in various areas. Are you satisfied with the current state of bilateral relations or you think there is a need to do more? What are the challenges and opportunities at this time of juncture?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Japan-Pakistan relationship, which is backed by a history of 70 years, should be cherished as a friendship of Derena Doast [longtime friends]. There is a gap of perception as I mentioned earlier. Further efforts from both sides are needed in order to maintain and strengthen this friendship. There is a saying in Japan that “it is more important to have someone close to you than a distant relative.” I believe that friendship can be deepened only through people-to-people interaction.
The Covid-19 pandemic has severely restricted human interaction, which has become a major constraint, but Japanese companies continue to be interested in doing business in Pakistan, and there is also a great potential for Japanese business community to work with Pakistani human resources in the future. As the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, I would like to energetically engage in dialogues and discussions with friends and colleagues in both countries to expand, strengthen, and demonstrate the capacity and potential of both countries.
The Economic Affairs: Could you please identify the sectors briefly where there is more potential to enhance bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Japan?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Pakistan is country with more than half of its population under the age of 30 with a great potential for utilizing young human resources, especially IT related talents, in the Japanese economy.
There are many small and medium-sized enterprises with excellent technology in both countries. JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) provides a web based global business matching platform called “e-venue” to support matching between such companies. Pakistan with its growing market, is offering plenty of rooms for further development of safe and secure foods and consumer goods from Japan.
Also, fostering the export industry is an important issue in Pakistan, and Japan’s experience of post-war economic development and fostering manufacturing industry may be of some reference value. I think the think-tanks of the two countries should be well utilized for future policy planning and management.
The Economic Affairs: Japan as a pioneer made landmark investment and development in Pakistan, please let our readers know about the role and achievements of Japanese investment in Pakistan?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: The history of Japan’s investment in Pakistan begins with the cotton trade in the 1950s. The textile industry has long been the driving force behind Japan’s industrial development. As time passes, the Japanese investment was diversified into automobiles, energy, food etc. Currently about 90% of cars in Pakistan market are Japanese brand cars, and this represents Japanese automobile companies’ great contributions to the growth and development of Pakistan’s automobile industry over the long term.
Japanese companies rarely withdraw once they make an investment decision. They hire local people and always transfer their technologies, knowhow, and experiences through employee education. Japanese businesses are generally committed to “living together and growing together” with the people in the countries where they made investment. This is a long-term commitment. I am confident that such attitude of those Japanese companies will continue unchanged in the future.
According to SBP statistics, the stock investment in Pakistan from Japanese companies in 2019 is about US$ 1.1 billion, which is the 8th largest in the world.
There seems to be some misconception in Pakistan that Japanese companies are repatriating profit and dividend to their home country, but as of 2019, the ratio of home remittance to the investment balance is only 3.3% for Japanese companies, which is lower than the world average of 6.1%.
Here, I would like to talk about three points: human resource development, local procurement, and technology transfer. For human resource development, Japanese automobile manufacturers are actively hiring local people and assigning them to the manufacturing site after undergoing various trainings. They will also acquire manufacturing skills by conducting OJT (on the job training) with Japanese engineers and colleagues. Japanese companies are aiming to develop human resources in a comprehensive manner by continuously transferring knowledge about not only safety and environment-related skills, but also societal norms that transcends manufacturing skills.
Regarding motorcycle safety, Atlas Honda, for example, has in-house instructors who has been trained in safety driving education in Japan, and they periodically provide safety education course across Pakistan.
Furthermore, as CSR activities, Japanese automobile manufacturers are not only providing engineering education at universities, but also donating to hospitals and introducing renewable energies. Thus, Japanese auto industry is contributing greatly to the development of not only the economy but also the society of Pakistan.
The localization rate of automobiles is different in terms of type of vehicles, however, average of the rate can be ranged from 40% to 70%. For example, Honda Atlas has achieved 69%. In addition, motorcycle manufacturer Atlas Honda has achieved its local procurement rate ranged from 70% to 80% through development of Atlas Industrial Park in Karachi City and factory site in Lahore through Joint Venture and technical alliance agreement with Japanese companies.
As per technology transfer, Toyota Motor announced in 2021, an investment for local production of the latest generation of strong hybrid electric vehicles and it is expected that technology transfer in this field will be promoted in the future.
The Economic Affairs: Excellency, there is general misperception that the automobile sector under Japanese umbrella has been reached at a saturation point due to 1) non transfer of technology, and 2) no new heavy investment for the innovation of the automobile sector? What would you like to say on this?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Recently, I have heard baseless criticisms about Japanese companies, especially the automobile industry, but I would like to respectfully ask you to make your own judgment without simply accepting unattributed rumors.
As to the transfer of technology, Japanese companies have been contributing through human resource development and it is also expected that through Toyota’s new investment, further transfer will be promoted.
I believe that the room is still available for further development as the Pakistani market grows in the future. Majority of cars on the streets here in Pakistan are Japanese brand cars and among those Suzuki cars manufactured more than a decade ago are still in active use. The credit for this on one hand, goes to the high quality of those Japanese cars and on the other hand this is possible because of the maintenance capability of the Pakistani automobile industry, and this is the technology that Japanese companies have transferred to Pakistani engineers in the last several decades.
The Economic Affairs: Excellency, what are the future plans of Japan for the further partnership and development?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Japan-Pakistan trade and investment relations have continued to diversify from the cotton trade to various sectors including automobile, energy and food industry.
The pandemic is accelerating the global digitization movement, and Pakistan’s IT industry and abundant IT human resources have the potential to become the core of the new Pakistani economy. It is one of many potential areas of cooperation between Japan and Pakistan in the future.
According to UNESCO statistics, 2% of Pakistani population over the age of 15 has programming ability and, in Malaysia 8% and in Singapore 6% has the same ability respectively. In those figure Pakistan looks to be lower than other Asian countries but in fact if you compare the actual number of talented people, Malaysia has about 2.6 million, Singapore has 340,000, and Pakistan has 4.6 million people and you have the enormous number of IT talents.
In Japan, according to Japan Information Technology Service Industry Association(JITSIA), the annual turnover of the information service industry is 27 trillion yen and the number of employees is 1.16 million. It is therefore expected that Japanese companies will accept Pakistani IT human resources and that Pakistani IT companies will enter the Japanese market.
The Economic Affairs: Pakistan has recently announced its new automobile policy, focusing on localization and making the auto sector export-oriented and competitive. Do you see any business opportunities for Japanese Automobiles companies under the new automobile policy of Pakistan?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: The newly announced Auto Industry Development and Export Policy eliminates the discriminatory treatment of incentives between greenfield investment and brownfield investment set forth in the previous policy. We welcome the establishment of a level playing field with the new Auto Policy.
It is also welcomed that incentives for hybrid vehicles, together with electric vehicles, have been stipulated in the new policy. On the other hand, with regard to the issue of local procurement, while some types of vehicles have already achieved about 70% of local procurement, but in order to further raise the local procurement rate in general, it is necessary to develop the supporting industry in Pakistan by inviting foreign parts suppliers to enter this country. And for that to happen, the new car market here should be sufficiently large, and half million units per year will be necessary. We are a little concerned if local procurement requirement becomes mandatory while the environment is not yet ready.
From next fiscal year, the government of Japan plans to dispatch an automobile industry development advisor to Pakistan, and with the help of this advisor, we would like to continue to work with Pakistani side for the development of the automobile industry.
The Economic Affairs: What is the current state of bilateral trade, and which areas do you believe have more opportunities for investment in Pakistan?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: According to Japan’s trade statistics, Japan’s exports to Pakistan are about $1.2 billion and imports are $ 200 million. Exports from Japan are mainly for automobiles, auto parts, steel, textile machinery, etc., while Pakistan’s exports to Japan are mainly textiles and food products.
About Japan’s imports from Pakistan, I know that exports of agricultural and fishery products such as basmati rice, mango, salt and shrimp have been increasing recently, and I believe that they continue to have high potential in the future. The textile industry here is also competitive, and there are companies in Pakistan that manufacture judo clothing (Penna Overseas Corporation) and companies that supply UNIQLO with their products (Interloop). So, there should be a lot of room for further expansion of Pakistan’s export to Japan in those sectors.
Japan has been assisting Pakistan to strengthen the competitiveness of textile industry, and for that purpose, we introduced textile machinery to the National Textile University in Faisalabad.
Japanese companies are also contributing to promoting Pakistan’s export. Japan’s fastener manufacturer YKK manufactures fasteners in Pakistan and supply them with local apparel manufacturers. Mitsui imports flame retardanced functional fiber from Japan, and manufactures in Pakistan special working clothes to be exported for the oil and gas industry in the Middle East as the company’s “CHIKARA” brand. Japanese companies are also contributing to “make in Pakistan” this way and helping Pakistan to increase its export.
To further boost the trade and investment, I hope that companies and business persons from both countries will get together to jointly find out new opportunities and develop new areas of cooperation between Pakistan and Japan.
The Economic Affairs: Could you please elaborate upon the ongoing Japanese projects and any further consideration to enhance cooperation in social sector?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: This year marks the 68th year of economic cooperation from Japan to Pakistan, and Japan’s ODA to Pakistan is one of the important pillars that have supported the friendly relations between our two countries. Japan’s economic cooperation includes three tools: (1) development of economic infrastructure through yen loans, (2) grant-aid for health, education, water and sewage, and other social sectors that are necessary for people’s well-being, and (3) face-to-face technical cooperation through dispatching Japanese experts and providing training to Pakistani talents.
In the social sector, Japan has provided a total of $ 125 million over the last 40 years for PIMS. Japan has been placing particular emphasis on the fields of health, education, water and sewage, disaster recovery and disaster prevention. Japan will continue to support Pakistan’s self-efforts and will implement projects that directly benefit the Pakistani people, especially the vulnerable group. Japan’s assistance is unique because we utilize Japan’s own technology and knowledge that JICA has cultivated over many years in supporting other developing countries.
The Economic Affairs: People-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges are considered to be the most important factor for improving bilateral relations and promotion of tourism between two countries. Could you please elaborate upon the potential in this sector?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: Japan has been promoting people-to-people exchange by utilizing various tools and schemes for many years. Pakistanis are experiencing Japan through, for example, government-sponsored international study program (at the level of graduate and undergraduate studies and short-term educational training), the Kakehashi Project, and the Young Leaders Program.
High level visits by political and economic leaders are also important. Under the current pandemic situation, online communications are being used, but we hope that we can resume actual exchanges as soon as the situation calms down.
We also want to promote the visit of Japanese people by communicating the charms of Pakistan which will contribute to the tourism industry. At the same time, I hope that Pakistani government also do its best to change the negative perception about Pakistan, which is unfortunately widely spread in many parts of the world.
The Economic Affairs: Excellency, we’ve shared history of ancient Ghandara Civilization, is Japan interested to help develop these sacred sites for boosting religious tourism?
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: The Gandhara heritage has valuable historical value and what I did first after my arrival was to visit Taxila. We consider that excellent cultural heritage transcends national borders and is a valuable property common to all humankind that should be passed down to the next generation. Japan has supporting projects such as preservation and restoration of archaeological sites and this kind of cultural cooperation is considered as one of important pillars of our contribution to the world. On the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, we are in the final phase of preparation of our new project for the Improvement of Equipment for Exhibition and Conservation of the Taxila Museum. I hope that this project, once realized, will also help promote the tourism industry in Pakistan.
The Economic Affairs: Have you tasted local Pakistani food? If, so please share your experience!
Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro: I’ve tried some Pakistani food in Islamabad, including visiting a restaurant with a view on the Margalla mountain, and I’ve also had feasts at my friends’ houses. I like spicy taste, so not to mention biryani, I think Haleem and Karahi are very delicious. We also have a very talented Pakistani cook at my official residence, and the Pakistani food he cooks is sophisticated and very tasty.
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