Israel-Japan Relations: A Recent Promise that Has Yet to Materialize

Focusing on Israel-Japan relations, this chapter argues that despite a considerable expansion of bilateral relations in the early 1990s, these relations have not taken off and remained confined to the economic sphere. This is largely due to the conviction on the Japanese side that comprehensive contact with Israel could be detrimental to the nation’s interests in the long run. And yet, since Prime Minister Abe Shinzō‘s second cabinet was formed in 2012, there has been a slow but evident warming in the ties with more frequent visits by dignitaries (including two by Abe himself), the conclusion of several bilateral agreements including collaboration on cyber security, and a dramatic rise in Japanese investments in Israel. The chapter offers a close analysis of the background and motives for these recent changes.