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On April 16, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Arab Japan Day Reception held in Tokyo.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations for the Arab Japan Day Reception. The translation of my address will not appear as subtitles here, so I have an interpreter accompanying me. 
 
First and foremost, I would like to express my respect for your active efforts which Mr. Waleed Siam, Ambassador of the Permanent General Mission of Palestine, and everyone else are making in daily basis.
 
Since I assumed office, I have visited the Middle East seven times. While I have become well acquainted with the leaders of the countries I visited, and just looking around at the faces of everyone who is present here tonight gives me a real sense of the breadth of cordial relations between Japan and the Arab region. We place I have positioned the building of a comprehensive relationship with Arab countries across a wide range of fields, including politics, the economy, security, culture, and society, as the pillar of our diplomacy with the Middle East. I place great value on the wisdom of the pioneers in the Middle East as exemplified by the principle of ‘the best way is in the middle,’ and have put effort into contributing to peace and prosperity in the Middle East through initiatives such as the ‘corridor for peace and prosperity.’ Furthermore, we have decided at this time to contribute human resources to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) on the Sinai Peninsula. This is the first time we will be participating in a peacekeeping operation outside the framework of the United Nations. The project to invite teachers from Gaza to visit Japan, which we announced at the UN General Assembly last year, was launched smoothly with the first batch of 10 teachers arriving in Japan recently to learn about school education in Japan.
 
Not long ago, ‘Reiwa’ was unveiled as the new era name that will succeed the Heisei era. On May 1, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince will accede to the Imperial Throne and the new era of ‘Reiwa’ will begin. The Rugby World Cup will be held in autumn this year, while the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held next year. For the Olympic Games, the relay of the Olympic torch will start in Fukushima, making it truly a “Recovery and Reconstruction Games” that will serve to support the recovery of regions affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude once again to all the people of the Arab region for the great support offered to Japan during the Great East Japan Earthquake. At the same time, I hope that you will take this opportunity to visit the affected regions, understand the current conditions in the affected areas where reconstruction efforts are making steady progress, and savor the safe food produce from the affected regions. I would like to ask for your cooperation in this respect. I eat rice and drink water from Fukushima every day, and thanks to that, have been successfully elected as the President of the LDP three times. Hence, I can vouch for the safety of Fukushima’s produce.
 
‘This name “Reiwa” includes the meaning of culture coming into being and flourishing when people bring their hearts and minds together in a beautiful manner.’ There is infinite potential for the relationship between Japan and the Arab region in the new era of Reiwa. In closing, I promise that Japan and the Arab region will walk together toward a bright future. Thank you.”