HE Mr. Hassan bin Mohammed Rafei Al Emadi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Japan, participated in the reception of the "Arab Day in Japan" held by the Council of Ambassadors and Heads of Arab Diplomatic Missions accredited to Japan at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo. The reception was attended by HE Mr. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, HE Mr. Hiromichi Watanabe, the Minister for Reconstruction and HE Mr. Takashi Yamashita, the Minister of Justice.

In his speech, Prime Minister Abe said that he has visited the Middle East seven times since becoming prime minister and is keen to contribute to peace and stability in the region. He expressed his hopes that the Arab diplomatic missions would cooperate to strengthen relations between Japan and the Arab world.

Arab diplomatic missions accredited to Japan began organizing "Arab Day in Japan" in 2008 with the aim of deepening the friendship between Japan and the Arab countries. Since then, the Arab Diplomatic Corp has been organizing this event on an annual basis. The Group has also been setting up a charity bazaar in Tokyo every year since 2010, which is frequented by large numbers of Japanese and foreign communities.