ABSTRACT
Saudi–Japanese relations predate the foundation of the Saudi kingdom and started with the Hajj pilgrimage by Japanese Muslims performed in the early 1900s. In December 1909, an Islamic–Jewish studies scholar, Kotaro Omar Yamaoka, successfully performed his Hajj pilgrimage as the first Japanese Muslim guided by a Russian-born Tatar Muslim, Abdulrashid Ibrahim. Four distinctive phases of relations are Japan's first oil development and the 1973 oil crisis, agreement on economic and technical cooperation, enhancement of multi-layered reciprocal relations, and techno-economic diplomacy on energy and security. The first mosque in Japan was built in the commercial city of Kobe in 1935, followed by the Tokyo mosque in 1938 by Islamic scholars and Muslim merchants, mainly from Turkey and other Asian regions. Japan's Middle East foreign policy during the Democratic Party of Japan administrations between 2009 and 2012 remained unclear due to its Asia-oriented foreign policy. In 2016 and 2017, Japan and Saudi Arabia proceeded to discuss future defense collaboration.
