The Embassy of Poland in Tokyo is the main diplomatic mission representing Poland in Japan.

History

Japan and Poland first established

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

in 1919, shortly following the establishment of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, which was the first Polish sovereign state after centuries of partitions. Amidst the context of the Polish diplomatic service being rebuilt in a difficult and corrupt environment, there was some difficulty with appointing the first envoy for the planned Polish legation. In 1920, , then envoy to Siberia, was designated minister plenipotentiary to Japan. Although he had earlier suggested the establishment of such a post to complement his activities, he was rather surprised to learn of his appointment, which was not helped by the fact that he had been notified about it two weeks after all other involved parties. Despite wondering about the broadness of the territory he now had jurisdiction over, he went to Japan to fulfill his duties. In 1937, the legation was upgraded to an embassy, with

Tadeusz Romer Tadeusz Ludwik Romer (December 6, 1894 in Antonosz near Rokiškis – March 23, 1978 in Montreal) was a Polish diplomat and politician. He was a personal secretary to Roman Dmowski in 1919. Later he joined the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affair ...

, the newly appointed envoy, becoming the first ambassador of Poland to Japan. However, the outbreak of

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 ...

brought a number of challenges to the mission. Despite German pressure, the embassy was able to stay open for some time, and Romer used it to take care of Polish refugees in Japan and facilitate travel to safer countries. Finally, the embassy had to close in 1941. After the declaration of martial law in Poland in 1981, Ambassador escaped from the embassy and successfully sought asylum in 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 ...

, citing the use of military force against civilians as the reason for his defection. In 1995, a competition was held to design what wound become the current complex, with Ingarden & Ewý Architects winning. They used a design that aimed to balance the restraints of Japanese architectural laws and safety concerns as well as beauty, uniqueness and open spaces, with the new embassy opening on 30 May 2001. During the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

held in 2021, Ambassador Paweł Milewski helped Belarusian-Polish sprinter

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya Krystsina Siarheyeuna Tsimanouskaya ( be, Крысціна Сяргееўна Ціманоўская, Łacinka: , ; born 19 November 1996) is a Belarusian-Polish sprinter. She has won numerous medals at various events, including a silver m ...

’s defect after she refused to return home.

Embassy sections

* Office of Politics and Economics ** Department of Consular Affairs * Office of Commerce and Investment * Office of Finance and Administration * Defense Attaché *

Polish Institute The Polish Institutes is a network of establishments reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Poland. there are 25 of them. Their mission id described as "creating a positive image of Poland abroad" by promoting Polish culture, history, scien ...

in Japan * Foreign Office of the in Tokyo

Honorary consulates of Poland in Japan

There are two Polish Honorary Consulates in Japan one in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

and one in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

References

External links

* Official site
Japanese
an
Polish
some consular information in English {{Authority control Japan–Poland relations

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Buildings and structures in Meguro Government buildings completed in 2001