Chile–Japan relations

Chile-Japan relations

Chile	Japan

Chile–Japan relationsare the diplomatic relations betweenChileandJapan.Both nations are members of theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation,Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership,Forum of East Asia–Latin America Cooperationand theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

History

Early relations

Early knowledge of Chile and Japan would have been through Spanish merchants who traded via theManila GalleonfromAcapulco,MexicoandManila,Philippinesas well as through Spanish missionaries. In Manila, the Spanish traded with Japanese merchants and brought their products toSpanish America(as Chile at the time was part of theSpanish Empire.In 1818, Chile declared its independence fromSpain.In 1860, a Japanese ship arrived to the Chilean port ofValparaíso.In October 1868, Japan entered theMeiji periodand began fostering diplomatic relations with several nations, after decades of isolation. In 1890, Chile opened a consulate in the Japanese port-city ofYokohama.

In 1894, Chile sold Japan a naval ship calledEsmeralda III.Japan re-batized the ship as theIzumi.On 25 September 1897, Chile and Japan officially established diplomatic relations with the signing of theTreaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation.That same year, Chile opened a diplomatic legation inTokyoand two years later, the first Chilean ambassador arrived to Japan and presented his credentials to the Meiji Emperor. In 1909, Japan opened a diplomatic legation inSantiago.

World War II and Post-War Relations

On 20 January 1943, Chile severed diplomatic relations with theAxis powersduringWorld War II,and it began imprisoning Japanese nationals that same year. Like most Latin-American nations, Chile did not physically participate in the war. Diplomatic relations between Chile and Japan were re-established on 7 October 1952.

In 1959,Nobusuke Kishi,became the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Chile. After the restoration of democracy in Chile,Patricio Aylwinbecame the first Chilean President to visit Japan in 1992.Since the initial visits, there have been numerous high-level visits between both nations. Chile and Japan are both initial signatories of theTrans-Pacific Partnership,an agreement that they worked closely with ten otherPacific Rimnations. Since theUnited Stateswithdrew from the agreement in January 2017, Chile and Japan have worked with the remaining nine countries and signed theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnershipin March 2018 in Santiago.

On 25 September 2017, both nations celebrated 120 years of diplomatic relations. To initiate the celebrations, JapanesePrince Akishinopaid a 10-day visit to Chile.

High-level visits

Chilean PresidentSebastián Piñerameeting with Japanese Prime MinisterNaoto Kanin Tokyo, 2010.

High-level visits from Chile to Japan

• PresidentPatricio Aylwin(1992)
• PresidentEduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle(1994, 1995 & 1997)
• PresidentRicardo Lagos(2003)
• PresidentMichelle Bachelet(2007 & 2018)
• PresidentSebastián Piñera(2010 & 2012)

High-level visits from Japan to Chile

• Prime MinisterNobusuke Kishi(1959)
• Prince Hitachi(1993 & 1997)
• Prime MinisterRyutaro Hashimoto(1996)
• Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi(2004)
• Prime MinisterShinzō Abe(2014)
• Prince Akishino(2017)

Bilateral relations

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (1897); Treaty of Peace (1951); Agreement on Technical Cooperation (1978); Agreement to establish theJapan International Cooperation Agencyin Chile (1988); Agreement to establish a Japanese volunteer program to ensure technical cooperation between both nations (1996); Agreement on the Assessment of Carbon Fi xing in Chilean Forest Ecosystems (2005) and an Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion (2016).

Trade

In 2006, Chile and Japan signed a free trade agreement which entered into force in November 2007.In 2017, trade between Chile and Japan totaled US$8.3 billion (911 billion Yen).Chilean exports to Japan include: copper and copper ore, fish (salmon & trout), woodchips, lithium and molybdenum. Japanese exports to Chile include: autos and auto parts, tires, construction and mining equipment. Japanese direct investment in 2016 to Chile totaled US$237 million.Several well known multinational Japanese companies such asHonda,Sony,Toshiba,Nissan,KomatsuandToyota(among others) operate in Chile.

Resident diplomatic missions

• Chile has an embassy inTokyo.
• Japan has an embassy inSantiago.

• 
  Embassy of Chile in Tokyo
• 
  Embassy of Japan in Santiago

See also

• Japanese Chileans

Further reading

• Iacobelli, P. (2020).Japan's Intelligence Network in Chile During the Second World War.Journal of Contemporary History.