On September 9, Japan imposed sanctions against Syria. The EU's sanctions include asset ban and travel ban on main figures in the administration. This is a diplomatic expression that the EU members are no longer willing to talk with these Syrian officials.
The Japanese ban covers asset ban only. Those targeted are mainly intelligence people, plus President al-Assad, Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa, and "former" defence minister, with whom Japan does not have any relations from the first, I suppose. (It is ridiculous that the "current" defense minister of Syria can open a bank account in Japan, and send money into and out of Japan freely.) Japan has not issued any travel ban against Syrians officials. So technically speaking, President al-Assad and his ministers can visit Japan. I thought that the Japanese sanctions is only symbolic. I was wrong.
Yesterday the Japanese ambassador in Damascus attended the funeral of Ghiyath Matar, an anti-government activist, along with his other western colleagues. In YouTube videos, I found him in the middle of the ambassadors (5th guy from the left.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVE5kl_qIoY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30foADC2zUE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVzJ3jgrz0
But I don't think that the ambassador or the Japanese government made the decision on its own. The US must have asked Japan to join, and Japan which does not have any specific Middle East policy, responded positively. Currently there are few commercial relations between Syria and Japan.
It is natural to think that the US asked South Korea to do the same. And they must have refrained from dispatching their ambassador perhaps because South Korea has considerable business relations with Syria.
And on Sep 15, it was revealed that Japan sent an observer to the oppositions' National Council whose aim is to "topple Bashar al-Assad regime."
The appearance of British and other western envoys at an activist's funeral signals an upping of stakes in the stand-off with Damascus
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2011/sep/14/syria-foreignpolicy
Ambassadors from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Netherlands and the EU attended the funeral on Sunday of activist Giyath Matar.
Anti-regime Syrians release council list
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=anti-regime-syrians--release-council-list-2011-09-15
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Selim Akan
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Syrian opposition members have unveiled a list of 140 dissidents for a "national council" that will aim to topple the present regime through peaceful means and set up a modern state while ensuring civil rights, according to members of the group.
"We are aiming to topple the [Bashar] al-Assad regime while protecting the institutions of the state," the council's spokeswoman, Basma Kadmani, said Thursday during a meeting in Istanbul.
He also said countries including Russia, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands had declared their intentions to send diplomats as observers to the Istanbul meeting; only Canada and Japan's representatives were present at the event, however.
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