Thirty years ago on January 23, 1995, Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Princess Masako, arrived in the UAE for a four-day visit as part of a Middle East tour that included Kuwait and Jordan. The heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum throne and his wife were welcomed at the airport by late UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, who was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time.
During the visit, the Japanese royals toured Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai. On their Al Ain stop, they were taken to the top of Jebel Hafeet and also enjoyed a camel race event and a football match. Crown Prince Naruhito also received the Order of Zayed during a ceremony at Mushrif Palace.
On the third day of the visit, the Japanese royals were in Dubai and were treated to a cruise down Dubai Creek. They were accompanied by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chief executive of Emirates Airlines, and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, who was the UAE's minister of higher education and scientific research and chancellor of Emirates University at the time.
Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako were photographed on their cruise, visibly enjoying the sights and experience. The crown prince was seen holding his own camera, which he used to chronicle the occasion.
The royal visit came after one of the most devastating earthquakes to hit Japan that displaced more than 300,000 people and killed more than 6,000. The couple began their Middle East tour in Kuwait, saying they had mixed feelings about leaving Japan for the long-planned trip while their country struggled to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake in Kobe.
Naruhito became the emperor of Japan in 2019 following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito. The emperor and his wife do not have a son, making his brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, the heir apparent to the throne.
The relationship between Japan and the UAE goes back to 1970 when Sheikh Khalifa attended Expo Osaka as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and met Crown Prince Akihito. In 1975, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who was then the Minister of Defence, also met Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo.
In 2022, the two countries celebrated 50 years since the start of the relationship, which started officially on May 4, 1972. According to a report released by the Japanese Embassy in Abu Dhabi, more than 4,400 Japanese people live in the UAE, their largest group in the Middle East and North Africa.
The report also says that by 2020, there were more than 340 Japanese companies operating in the UAE, showing the robust economic connection between the two countries. Today, UAE citizens enjoy visa free travel to Japan, where they can indulge in the many aspects of Japanese culture that have become popular, including food, anime and traditional crafts.
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
RACECARD
%3Cp%3E5pm%3A%20Al%20Shamkha%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20Khalifa%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Masdar%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Emirates%20Championship%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20Dh1%2C000%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20Shakbout%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%202%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m; Winner: Mcmanaman, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Bawaasil, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Bochart, Fabrice Veron, Satish Seemar
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Mutaraffa, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Rare Ninja, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alfareeq, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Zorion, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The biog
Favourite film: The Notebook
Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey
Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela. Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands
Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends
Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
