The Austrian Embassy Tokyo (german: Österreichische Botschaft Tokio; ja, 在京オーストリア大使館, Zaikyō Ōsutoria Taishikan) is the main

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

representing Austria in Japan. It is located in the

Minato Minato (港 or 湊) is Japanese for 'harbor', and may refer to: Places * Minato, Tokyo or Minato City, a special ward in Tokyo, Japan * Minato-ku, Nagoya, a ward of Nagoya, Japan * Minato-ku, Osaka, a ward of Osaka, Japan * Minato (湊), a neig ...

ward of the Japanese capital

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 ...

History

After establishing relations with Japan in 1869,

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

searched for a suitable site to hoist a legation. After some setbacks and negotiation with the Japanese government, a residence in the foreign enclave at

Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...

was purchased in 1876, but a fire later that year led to its destruction and the eventual move to the Kioichō district in 1877. The legation was promoted to an embassy in 1907 following Japan's victory in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

leading to an elevation of its status to "great power", but the property was handed over to other countries through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

due to the suspension of diplomatic relations, eventually being destroyed in the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

. Relations remained interrupted through the interwar period. 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 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

annexed Austria in 1938 and essentially abolished the Austrian diplomatic service. Although many other missions were absorbed into the German foreign service at least partially, the honorary consul in Tokyo at the time instead opted to leave to Shanghai and rally the Austrian community exiled there, which would lead to his recognition by the Austrian legation in France as "a great patriot". However, he was also utilized by the occupied Foreign Ministry to collect information on the situation there. Following the war, diplomatic relations were restored in 1953 and the offices that each country had in the other were re-promoted to embassies in 1957. A new chancery and ambassador's residence designed by Maki and Associates was opened in April 1976 and has remained in use to this day. In 2011, the embassy was temporary relocated to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

during the Great East Japan Earthquake amid worries of excessive radiation in Tokyo, leading to the embassy staff shifting to the Osaka consulate and a spike in activity there.

References

External links

* (English; German and Japanese versions also available) {{DEFAULTSORT:Embassy of Austria, Tokyo

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Austria–Japan relations

History

See also

References

External links