Chile–Japan relations are the diplomatic relations between

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Both nations are members of the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive may refer to: *Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. * Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement ...

, Forum of East Asia–Latin America Cooperation and the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

History

Early relations

Early knowledge of Chile and Japan would have been through Spanish merchants who traded via the

Manila Galleon fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...

from

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as well as through Spanish missionaries. In Manila, the Spanish traded with Japanese merchants and brought their products to Spanish America (as Chile at the time was part of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. In 1818, Chile declared its independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 1860, a Japanese ship arrived to the Chilean port of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. In October 1868, Japan entered the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

and began fostering diplomatic relations with several nations, after decades of isolation. In 1890, Chile opened a consulate in the Japanese port-city of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

.Bilateral relations between Chile and Japan (in Spanish)
/ref> In 1894, Chile sold Japan a naval ship called ''Esmeralda III''. Japan re-batized the ship as the ''Izumi''. On 25 September 1897, Chile and Japan officially established diplomatic relations with the signing of the ''Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation''. That same year, Chile opened a diplomatic legation in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and 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 in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

.Resumen Historia de las Relaciones Bilaterales a Nivel Político (in Spanish)
/ref>

World War II and Post-War Relations

On 20 January 1943, Chile severed diplomatic relations with the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

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 opposin ...

, 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 was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. Known for his exploitative rule of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China in the 1930s, Kishi was nicknamed the "Monster of the Shō ...

, became the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Chile. After the restoration of democracy in Chile, Patricio Aylwin became 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 the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...

, an agreement that they worked closely with ten other

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of co ...

nations. Since the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

withdrew from the agreement in January 2017, Chile and Japan have worked with the remaining nine countries and signed the

in March 2018 in Santiago. On 25 September 2017, both nations celebrated 120 years of diplomatic relations. To initiate the celebrations, Japanese

Prince Akishino is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and the younger son of Emperor emeritus Akihito and Empress emerita Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title and has headed his own branch of the im ...

paid a 10-day visit to Chile.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Chile to Japan * President Patricio Aylwin (1992) * President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994, 1995 & 1997) * President Ricardo Lagos (2003) * President Michelle Bachelet (2007 & 2018) * President Sebastián Piñera (2010 & 2012) High-level visits from Japan to Chile * Prime Minister

(1959) *

Prince Hitachi is a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the younger brother of Emperor emeritus Akihito. He is the second son and sixth born child of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun and is third in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Nobody follows ...

(1993 & 1997) * Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (1996) * Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (2004) * Prime Minister Shinzō Abe (2014) *

(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 the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Chile (1988); Agreement to establish a Japanese volunteer program to ensure technical cooperation between both nations (1996); Agreement on the Assessment of Carbon Fixing 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).Japan-Chile Relations (Basic Data)
/ref> 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 as

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

, Komatsu and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

(among others) operate in Chile.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Chile has an embassy in

. * Japan has an embassy in

.Embassy of Japan in Santiago
/ref> File:Embassy of Chile in Tokyo.jpg, Embassy of Chile in Tokyo File:Avenida Ricardo Lyon embajada Japon 20171119 fRF02.jpg, Embassy of Japan in Santiago

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chile-Japan

Bilateral relations of Japan