Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 2, 1985

Last night, some unnecessary programs such as visiting factories and the banquet of the Federation of Economic Organizations were removed. Therefore, before noon, I had little work and stayed mostly in the palace. I spoke on the phone with Mr. President and Comrade Dost [IDF Minister], he said that Libya and Syria have not fulfilled their promises. Preparations for the war of the cities have started on the part of Iraq.

At eleven o'clock, we went to meet [Mr. Hirohito] the Emperor of Japan. He is a simple and humble man. He is an old man and is 86 years old. He has been emperor for more than sixty years. His crown prince has also grown old in waiting. His nephew, who is a prince, was also present. We were his guests for lunch. He does not have a royal nature and is like an ordinary person.

In the evening, we visited the Zama automobile factory owned by Nissan. This factory is fully automatic and recently they signed a contract with Iran to manufacture Nissan vans in Iran.

At my residence, we had a meeting with Mr. [Shintaro] Abe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Bilateral relations, war, terrorism, Soviet Union and Afghanistan were discussed. We were guests of the Prime Minister for dinner. There were also political and economic figures of Japan. They say that the Japanese government is under the influence of capitalists. The Prime Minister gave a regular and ceremonial speech based on the script, and I spoke in detail about the revolution and Iran after the revolution, the goals and achievements of the Islamic revolution, war and terrorism, etc., and I impressed them. The Japanese are upset about canceling the program of the Federation of Economic Organizations, so we decided to follow the program.

During the negotiations with the attendants of the ceremony, it became clear that Japan suffers from a lack of housing. Government employees are in economic trouble and the situation of the private sector is better. I watched TV programs until midnight. About ten Japanese TV channels, which are colorful and interesting, mostly deal with product advertisements, and everything is overshadowed by advertisements. In Japan, specific intellectual, human and academic goals are not mentioned much, except at the level of well-being and pleasure. The principle of pleasure is ruling and that we cannot take away from the world.

We usually have problems in ceremonies and gatherings. Ruling on shaking hands and food is one of the problems of socializing, especially at parties. The sanctity of non-Islamic slaughter is another problem, although in China and Japan they tell us that meat from Islamic slaughter is consumed in parties. Especially with the variety of foods, I mostly use fish meat which is abundant in oriental parties, and some of my companions eat bread and butter.

Our other problem is avoiding socializing with women, which is inevitable in today's world. There are also many problems for the hosts, because they have to abandon their traditions and habits in socializing with women; Probably, women also suffer and clash. We cannot justify it.

If a woman comes to gatherings, because we don't shake hands with them, they must feel humiliated. Maybe it has a positive effect on the thinking of some Muslims, because they know that the type of association between men and women today is not logical in the westernized world. But without a doubt, the majority of them do not like our situation. In Japan, according to the prime minister, 70% of the people are Buddhist and 5% are Shinto, and some are Christians and Muslims, but their religion, like Islam, does not rule their lives and is only nominal.