Japan courts Poland ahead of EU membership

By Kamil Tchorek

Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister of Japan, was in Poland last week as part of a European tour that also took in Germany and the Czech Republic. During his two-day visit to Warsaw, talks with Prime Minister Leszek Miller resulted in the signing of a joint statement consolidating the key points of agreement between the two governments' economic and foreign policies.

The document highlights opportunities for Japanese and Polish cooperation on a broad range of issues including North Korea's nuclear threat, Iraq reconstruction and peacekeeping, EU enlargement and - as a ray of light in Poland's bleak inward investment climate - Japanese investment into Poland.

"Both sides have to improve terms for boosting Japanese investments into Poland," Koizumi said. "There is huge potential for the future."

Japanese businesses have put $599 million into the Polish economy since market reforms began in 1990, making Japan the 21st-largest foreign investor. France ranks first, with $12.2 billion in cumulative investments. Notably, more than half of Japan's total investment - $352 million - was invested into Poland in 2002 alone. However, investment here still hasn't caught up with that in other countries in the central and eastern European region. According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the number of Japanese firms in the Czech Republic rose from 30 to 42 last year, whereas the amount in Poland rose from a mere 15 to 18 in the same period.

Koizumi's meeting with Miller marked the first visit to Poland by a Japanese head of government in 13 years. "The visit is a measure by Japan to court Poland's EU voting power, which will be joint fifth largest in Europe, alongside Spain's, once accession is completed next year," said Jiro Okuyama, a spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Discussions over a potential Japanese military contribution to the Polish-led stabilization force in Iraq were suspended when news broke of the bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad. Japanese and local government representatives had been discussing the possibility of Japan's sending 1,000 to 2,000 troops to the Polish zone.