September 27, 2016

"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit to Cuba after attending the 71st session of the UN General Assembly last week, the first ever Japanese leader to visit Cuba. When meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, Abe announced Japan would write off Cuba's unpaid debt of 120 billion yen ($1.2 billion) and donate nearly 1.3 billion yen of medical equipment to the country.

It's fair to consider Abe's one-day trip to Cuba as the extension of US President Barack Obama's historic visit to the country in March. Exchanges between Japan and Cuba date back to 1614 with a visit by a Japanese samurai. The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1929, but later became enemies in WWII. They restored diplomatic relations in November 1952.

Abe mainly intends to promote Japan's economic cooperation with Cuba via his trip, but this involves some risks. Cuba has abundant mineral resources. According to statistics of the US Geological Survey, Cuba ranks third in the world in terms of nickel reserves and is the fifth-largest producer of refined cobalt. The North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. All these are considerably alluring for resource-scarce Japan."

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