Japan–Spain relations refers to the
bilateral relations
Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Both nations are members of 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 history
![HasekuraWithShipDetail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/HasekuraWithShipDetail.jpg)
The first contact between Japan and Spain occurred in 1549 when Spanish missionary
Francis Xavier arrived to Japan. While in Japan, Xavier embarked upon a major evangelizing project and he founded the first Catholic colony in Japan.
In 1565, Spain created the
Manila-Acapulco trade route, which was a trade routes between
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 ...
, capital of the
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 ...
and the Mexican port of
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 ...
(both nations under Spanish rule at the time). Through this trade route, Spanish
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...
s sailed from Acapulco to the Philippines and traded with neighboring countries/territories within the vicinity. Some of those territories were the islands of Japan. In Manila, Japanese trading boats would arrive and bring goods and food to trade with the New Spanish government.
[Bilateral relations between Japan and New Spain (Mexico) (in Spanish)]
/ref> From Manila, Spanish vessels would transport the goods back to Acapulco, traverse the Mexican terrain until they reached the port of Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and from there transport the goods onto another Spanish vessel for sail to Spain.
In 1582, a group of Japanese Christian delegates known as the Tenshō embassy
The Tenshō embassy (Japanese: 天正の使節, named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. The embassy was led by ...
left Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
, Japan and traveled on a grand tour of Europe. In 1584, the embassy arrived to Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
and Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
where they met with King Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
. In October 1613, the first official Japanese diplomatic mission was sent to New Spain by Date Masamune
was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...
, a regional strongman. This diplomatic mission was to be known as the Keichō embassy and it was the second diplomatic mission to travel to Europe after the Tenshō embassy. The Japanese ambassador, Hasekura Tsunenaga traveled from Japan to Acapulco and met with the Spanish viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba. In Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
(the capital of New Spain), Hasekura met with several colonial leaders and offered the New Spanish government free commerce between the New Spanish territories and Japan and asked for a group of Christian missionaries to return to Japan. The diplomatic mission also offered to expel both English and Dutch citizens from the country because both nations were considered at the time to be enemies of the Spanish king. In June 1614, Hasekura left New Spain via Veracruz and continued on his journey to Spain to meet with the Spanish king leaving behind a small delegation. In Spain, Hasekura was baptized a catholic and changed his name to Francisco Felipe Faxicura. Two years later in February 1617, Hasekura/Faxicura returned from Spain to Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and traveled to Mexico City. Before leaving Spain, Hasekura left behind six samurais in the town of Coria del Río where their descendants remain today with the surname of ''Japón''.
In 1618, Hasekura and his diplomatic mission set sail from New Spain and returned to Japan. On arrival, they were confronted with the fact that the country had dramatically changed since their departure in 1613 and that anything related to Christianity had been banned. Hasekura and his delegation had to renounce their adopted religion. Since Hasekura's diplomatic mission to Spain, Japan entered a time of isolation and refused to trade with foreign nations. It wasn't until 12 November 1868 that Japan and Spain officially established diplomatic relations with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation.
Japan and Spanish Philippines
The Spanish diplomat F.E. Reynoso stated that during the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1894, the Japanese made an offer of 40 million pounds sterling to buy the 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 ...
from Spain. At the time, the Philippines were a Spanish colony. However, according to the Reynoso, the Spanish did not accept this offer. According to the scholar C.E. Russell, in 1896 Spain was rumoured to have offered to sell the islands to Japan for $3,000,000 gold dollars, but this offer was rejected.
During the Philippine revolution, Japan gave sanctuary to Filipino rebels righting against Spanish rule, including Jose Ramos who had a Japanese wife, and Jose Rizal
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
. The Japanese had also blocked arms sales to the rebels and, at the request of Spain, had kept Filipino rebels in Japan under close surveillance.
The start of the uprising in 1896 coincided with a visit of the Japanese cruiser ''Kongo'' to Manila, and members of the Katipunan approached the captain of the ship in an attempt to negotiate an arms deal with Japan. However, no steps were taken to undermine the 1897 Treaty of Friendship and General Intercourse that was then being negotiated between Japan and Spain recognising each other's spheres of interest.
During the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
Japan declared official neutrality.
Relations during the 1930s
Relations between Japan and the Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
were generally poor during the 1930s as the Spanish representative at the League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
had been prominent in efforts to sanction Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Following the outbreak of the Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, Japan at first withheld recognition from Franco's regime, though they also did not intervene when diplomats loyal to Franco seized control of the Spanish embassy in Tokyo and prevented the entry of the Chargé d'affaires appointed by the Republican government.
José del Castillo, a Spanish diplomat in Japan loyal to the nationalist cause, first applied for official recognition of the Franco government by Japan in August 1937. Kōki Hirota
was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was . He was executed for war crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War at the Tokyo Trials.
Early life
Hirota was ...
, the Japanese foreign minister at the time, responded to this by suggesting to Italian and German diplomats that recognition of the Spanish nationalist government should, in his view, also involve recognition of the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
. Franco accepted this, and on 12 November 1937 the Japanese cabinet decided to recognise Nationalist Spain and announced the decision publicly. The official ceremony of recognition was held in Tokyo on 1 December 1937, and the Franco government in turn recognised Manchukuo the day after. Both Japan and Nationalist Spain went on to join the Anti-Comintern Pact.
World War II and post war relations
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 ...
, Spain initially aligned itself 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 ...
(although officially neutral during the war). Japan chose Spain for the representation of Japanese interests in the Latin-American republics. The imminent victory of the United States in the Pacific Ocean theatre induced a change in the Spanish diplomatic position vis-à-vis Japan and, using as pretext the massacre of Spanish nationals in the conflict, the former accused the later of deliberate attacks and toyed with the idea of a war declaration. Some members of the Spanish government viewed Japan as being "Anti-Christian and Anti-Western".[Franco's Spain and the Japanese Empire]
/ref> On 17 March 1945, the Spanish government decided to withdraw its protection of Japanese interests. On 12 April 1945, Spain declared the rupture of diplomatic relations with Japan. This was after Japanese troops murdered Spanish citizens and consular officials in Manila and thereafter burned their consulate. Soon, Japan began suffering setbacks in the Pacific and Spain decided not to pursue further actions against Japan.
Relations at the embassy-level were not fully re-established until 1952. In October 1980, Spanish King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
paid an official visit to Japan. In September 1994, Japanese Emperor Akihito
is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
Bo ...
paid an official visit to Spain. Since the initial visits, there have been several high level Royal and Governmental visits between leaders of both nations. In 2017, both nations celebrated 150 years of diplomatic relations.
Agreements
Both nations have signed numerous agreements such as a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (1868); Agreement on the Elimination of Tourist Visas (1965); Agreement on Air Services (1980); Agreement on Cultural Cooperation (1982); Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2011); Agreement on Exchange and Cooperation in Defense (2014); Agreement on Sports Cooperation (2017); Agreement on Economic and Industrial Cooperation (2017) and an Agreement on Scientific and Investigative Medical Cooperation (2017).
Tourism
Spain is the 5th largest European destination for Japanese tourists with 473,000 Japanese citizens visiting Spain and spending more than €900 million Euros in 2017.[150 años de relaciones diplomáticas entre España y Japón (in Spanish)]
/ref> During the same period, 100,000 Spanish citizens traveled to Japan. There are direct flights between Madrid and Tokyo with Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
airlines.
Trade
In 2015, trade between Japan and Spain totaled €5.5 billion Euros (729 billion Yen). Japan's main exports to Spain include: Chemical products, machinery and transportation equipment. Spain's exports to Japan include: Transportation equipment and machinery.[Japan-Spain Relations (Basic Data)]
/ref> Japan is Spain's second largest trading partner in Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and Spain is Japan's sixth largest trading partner within the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Resident diplomatic missions
* Japan has an embassy in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, a consulate-general in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and a consulate in Las Palmas.
* Spain has an embassy 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 ...
.Embassy of Spain in Tokyo
/ref>
File:Japanese embassy in Madrid (Spain) 02.jpg, Embassy of Japan in Madrid
File:Tokio - Embassy of Spain.JPG, Embassy of Spain in Tokyo
See also
* Colegio Japonés de Madrid
The is a Japanese international school in the El Plantío area of Moncloa-Aravaca, Madrid, in the city's northwestern portion. Many Japanese families, particularly those with children, live in northwest Madrid, in proximity to the school. It was e ...
* Japanese people in Spain
Japanese people in Spain consist largely of expatriate managers in Japanese corporations, as well as international students. There are also some people of Japanese ancestry in Spain, including descendants of 17th-century migrants to Spain, as we ...
* Japanese School in Barcelona
The ; ca, Col·legi Japonès de Barcelona is a Nihonjin gakko, Japanese international school in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain, in Greater Barcelona. 2005: 18 (2004)See profileat ''Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert'' (RACO).
* Kojima, ...
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan-Spain relations
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 ...
Bilateral relations of Spain