Cambodia–Japan relations are foreign relations between

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and Japan. Japan has an embassy in Phnom Penh and Cambodia has an embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

History

Early interactions

Japan's relationship with Cambodia began in 1603. Cambodian ships would trade at the port of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

. In one of Cambodia's earliest mission, military aid was requested.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

sent swords and other weapons. However, Ieyasu did not want to be involved in Southeast Asian military actions. In 1742, official contact with Japan and Cambodia ended. Cambodian officials stopped going to Nagasaki for trade. Throughout 18th and 19th century, constant wars in Cambodia (from civil wars and rebellions to wars between Vietnam and Siam Empire) further prevented Cambodia and Japan from resuming relations.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Franco-Thai War The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – January 28, 1941, th, กรณีพิพาทอินโดจีน, Krṇī phiphāth xindocīn; french: Guerre franco-thaïlandaise) was fought between History of Thailand (1932–1973), Thailand an ...

in 1940 weakened the colonial regime in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

. The Hitlerian puppet regime

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

signed an agreement with

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

to allow military transit through French Indochina. Taking advantage of Thailand's friendship with Japan and the weakened situation in France, Thai government under pro-Japanese leadership of Plaek Phibunsongkhram invaded Cambodia's western provinces. In March 1941,

hosted the signature of a treaty that formally compelled the French to relinquish the provinces of

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

, Siem Reap, Koh Kong as well as a narrow extension of land between the 15th parallel and the Dangrek Mountains in Stung Treng Province. As a result, Cambodia had lost almost half a million citizens and one-third of its former surface area to Thailand. In August 1941,

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

entered the French protectorate of Cambodia and established a garrison that numbered 8,000 troops. Despite their military presence, the Japanese authorities allowed the cooperating Vichy French colonial officials to remain at their administrative posts.

Kingdom of Kampuchea

On 9 March 1945, during the closing stages of the war, Japan overthrew the French rule in Indochina. On 13 March 1945, Norodom Sihanouk The King of Cambodia proclaimed an independent Kingdom of Kampuchea following Japan formal request. Shortly thereafter, Japan nominally ratified the independence of Cambodia and established embassy. On 18 March 1945, Sihanouk himself also served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. However,

Son Ngoc Thanh Sơn Ngọc Thành ( km, សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់; 7 December 1908 – 8 August 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister. Early li ...

, who previously fled to Japan following the 1942 anti-French demonstrations, had returned in April 1945 to serve as foreign minister. Son Ngoc Thanh became prime minister following the surrender of Japan, serving until French colonialism returned in October 1945. With the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the Allies disarmed and repatriated soldiers of Imperial Japan. The French were able to reimpose the colonial administration in Phnom Penh in October the same year. On 12 October, French colonial authorities exiled Son Ngoc Thanh to France and put him under house arrest due to his collaboration with Japan in World War II. However, his supporters went underground and joined forces with

Khmer Issarak The Khmer Issarak ( km, ខ្មែរឥស្សរៈ, or 'Independent Khmer') was a "loosely structured" anti- French and anti-colonial independence movement. The movement has been labelled as “amorphous”. The Issarak was ...

, where both they and

Japanese holdout Japanese holdouts ( ja, 残留日本兵, translit=Zanryū nipponhei, lit=remaining Japanese soldiers) were soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific Theatre of World War II who continued fighting World Wa ...

got involved in

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

Cold War Era

In January 1953, Japan and Cambodia again established formal diplomatic relations, with Norodom Sihanouk The King of Cambodia being awarded

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously. Apart fr ...

in 1955 by Hirohito The

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

. Relations continued even after

Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence min ...

and his faction launched a coup in 1970 that overthrown the kingdom and created US puppet regime Khmer Republic, although technically Japan still recognized the exiled Sihanouk as the king of Cambodia. In 1975, embassies of both sides were closed due to the rise of China puppet Pol Pot regime Khmer Rouge. As Pol Pot regime collapsed in the wake of

Third Indochina War The Third Indochina War was a series of interconnected armed conflicts, mainly among the various communist factions over strategic influence in Indochina after Communist victory in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1975. The conflict primari ...

, the FUNSK established

People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as So ...

, however they and Japan did not contact each other. After Cold War era, the Embassy of Japan in Cambodia resumed operations in 1992, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Japan resumed operations in December 1994.

Trade

Trade is sizable between the two countries: * Japan to Cambodia: 14.0 billion yen (2006) * Cambodia to Japan: 9.5 billion yen (2006) Japanese investment in Cambodia includes Phnom Penh Commercial Bank, a joint venture of Hyundai Switzerland and Japanese

SBI Group SBI Holdings, sometimes referred to as Strategic Business Innovator Group, () is a financial services company group based in Tokyo, Japan. The group's businesses and companies are held primarily at SBI Holdings. The company provides financial ser ...

, opened in 2008.

Japanese aid

Japan remains Cambodia's top donor country providing some US$1.2 billion in total official development assistance since 1992. In 2006, Japanese and Cambodian governments signed an agreement outlining a new Japanese aid program worth US$59 million. The Japanese government has provided significant assistance for

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

and education.

References

External links

Japanese embassy in Cambodia

Cambodian embassy in Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambodia-Japan relations Japan Bilateral relations of Japan