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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to visit Japan next week, where he will hold talks on energy while hunting more opportunities in gaming as he seeks to improve Saudi Arabia's image.
Mohammed, who is a reputed "Call of Duty" fan, has launched a multi-billion-dollar push into the gaming sector -- from tiny eSports to game development -- as part of his Vision 2030 transformation strategy for the oil-rich kingdom. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund holds around eight percent stake in Nintendo, and the country is planning a theme park based on Japan's "Dragon Ball" manga franchise in a new "entertainment city" outside Riyadh.
The kingdom is also organising an eSports World Cup starting this year to become the industry's "premier global hub". "The Saudi Crown Prince finds Japanese soft power, particularly in gaming and eSports, highly appealing," said Mohammed Soliman from the Middle East Institute in Washington.
"It aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and builds the kingdom's soft power in this rapidly growing area beyond Riyadh's religious leadership," he said. Prince Mohammed, 38, known by his initials MBS, will meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the emperor on his first visit to Japan since 2019.
When Kishida visited Saudi Arabia last July, the focus was on energy, particularly green energy and decarbonisation. But this time the scope will likely be broader "as Riyadh eyes partnerships with major Asian powers -- chiefly Japan and Korea -- on manufacturing, trade, and technologies," Soliman said.
The country's de facto leader in 2022 announced a $38-billion investment strategy for the kingdom's Savvy Games Group, owned by the deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund. As well as Nintendo, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund also reportedly holds stakes in Japanese "Street Fighter" maker Capcom, and US giants Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard.
Serkan Toto of Tokyo-based firm Kantan Games said there was ample potential for Prince Mohammed to meet gaming executives in Japan. "Japan is the third biggest gaming market in the world, there are thousands of game companies here, and Saudi Arabia already has experience investing and... outright acquiring Japanese game companies," he said.
Campaigners say Saudi's quest for soft power belies a dire rights record, and Human Rights Watch this week called on Kishida to press Prince Mohammed on the issue.
Lewis Musonye
