ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Japan is celebrating the 85th anniversary of its diplomatic relations with Iraq this year, with its ambassador in Baghdad highlighting growing cooperation with both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region across trade, infrastructure, culture, and education.
“Our two countries, Japan and Iraq, enjoy an unquestionably good and friendly and historical relations,” Japanese Ambassador to Iraq Akira Endo told Rudaw on Wednesday, noting that diplomatic ties date back to 1939. “Japan has strongly supported Iraq, since 2003 in particular. We support [the] people of Iraq in general and of course the people of the Kurdistan Region in particular.”
Japan exported nearly $900 million worth of goods to Iraq in 2024, including automobiles, machinery, and oil well equipment. Iraq’s exports to Japan, mainly oil, were valued at around $17 million, according to Endo.
Several Japanese companies, particularly automobile manufacturers, have established offices in the Kurdistan Region.
“Of course, these figures are not so low, I think, but, of course, we believe there is some potential for growth,” Endo said. He acknowledged, however, that Japanese companies remain cautious about entering the Iraqi market due to “security concerns and overall investment climates,” and often struggle to find reliable local partners.
Despite those challenges, Japanese products are “very receptive in the Iraqi market” with a “tremendously good reputation,” the ambassador added.
Since 2003, Japan has provided Iraq with $21 billion in assistance, half of it through the Yen Loan Project - a large-scale, long-term, low-interest loan provided by the government of Japan to a developing country. These loans finance infrastructure upgrades and allow Japanese companies to share advanced technology.
One flagship effort is the Basra refinery upgrading project, the largest yen loan initiative in the Middle East, which is set for completion by the end of this year, according to Endo, adding that the project is expected to generate about $8 million worth of petroleum products annually.
In the Kurdistan Region, Japan has invested in electricity, water supply, and oil infrastructure. Endo pointed to a newly launched sewage project in Erbil as an urgent priority for a region facing rapid population growth. The project is expected to improve water safety for as many as 2.4 million people.
Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has launched Iraq’s first wastewater treatment project in Erbil, a $230 million initiative aimed at providing clean water for the city and surrounding farmland, its ambassador told Rudaw earlier this month.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday received Endo, discussing the importance of broadening cooperation between Erbil and Tokyo.
The two discussed "the overall situation in Iraq, the relationship between Erbil and Baghdad, and preparations for the upcoming elections," read a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
President Barzani and Endo also stressed the importance of the presence and engagement of the Japanese firms in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The Kurdish leader expressed his "appreciation for Japan’s support and the contributions of its companies in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region."