Relations between

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and Japan ( mn, Монгол, Японы харилцаа, ja, 日本とモンゴルの関係 / 日蒙関係) began in the 13th century, but the two countries had no formal, diplomatic interactions until the late 20th century.

History

Mongol invasions

By 1259, Korean resistance to the Mongol invasion had collapsed. With Korea under Mongol control, the attempts by the Mongol Empire to invade the

Japanese Archipelago The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East Chin ...

began after the Goryeo Dynasty (now

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

) formed an alliance with Kublai Khan of the Mongols. Kublai sent several emissaries, in 1268, demanding that the "king" of Japan submit to the Empire, under its mandate from Eternal Heaven. These emissaries were either ignored or rebuffed by Japan, and as a consequence in October 1274 Kublai sent an invasion fleet across Tsushima Strait to

Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 by ...

, comprising over 900 ships and 20,000 soldiers. This, the first invasion, overran Tsushima and

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japanese ...

. From there they sailed to

Hakata Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city, on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. It faces the Tsushima Strait, and features beaches and a port, though parts of the bay have been reclaimed in the expansion of the city of Fukuoka. The b ...

, which resulted in the

Battle of Bun'ei The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima and Iki islands, Kublai Khan's fleet ...

, where what the Japanese were later to call a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

("divine wind") wrecked the invading forces in their ships. The second attempted invasion came after more envoys had been sent in 1275 and 1279. At that time, the Japanese beheaded them rather than simply refusing them. As a consequence, Kublai dispatched another invasion fleet, consisting the Song fleet, which the Empire captured in 1275, and a further 1,000 ships supplied by Goryeo. The latter arrived in Japan in May 1281 before the Song fleet, and attacked Hakata without waiting for the Song ships, and also without success. Thus began the Battle of Kōan. The Song fleet arrived later, and also attacked Hakata, but were unable to overcome Japanese forces. Eventually, on the 15th of August, another kamikaze wrecked the invading forces in their ships.

Twentieth century

Before World War II

After the collapse of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

that had ruled Mongolia for some centuries and the Outer Mongolian revolution of 1911 (for more of the history, see

History of Mongolia Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (3rd century BC–1st century AD), the Xianbei state ( AD 93–234), the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and others, ruled the area of ...

.) and after the rise of Japan to world power status in the early 20th century, the Mongolian government of

Bogd Khan Bogd Khan, , ; ( – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khaganate from 1911 to 1924, following the state's ''de facto'' independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the third most importa ...

sent emissaries requesting formal diplomatic recognition to various world powers, including the Internal Affairs Minister, Da Lam Tserenchimed, who was sent to Japan in 1913.

Since World War II

After World War II, diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia only resumed on 24 February 1972. This was done following the invitation and attendance of Mongolia to the

Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

, held in

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 ...

, which revealed a strong desire to normalise relations on both sides. Following this, the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party voted against raising the issue of war reparations with Japan, thus leading to an exchange of diplomats and restoring of formal relations. On 17 March 1977, the two nations signed an agreement on economic co-operation. This agreement gave Mongolia an investment of into cashmere production. By 1988, trade between Mongolia and Japan was worth , equivalent to 43% of all Mongolian trade with capitalist nations. Relations improved following

1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia The Mongolian Revolution of 1990, known in Mongolia as the 1990 Democratic Revolution ( mn, 1990 оны ардчилсан хувьсгал, ), was a peaceful democratic revolution which led to the country's transition to a multi-party syst ...

, whereupon Sousuke Uno's visit in April 1989 and

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as the 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Early life and education Kaifu was born on 2 January 1931, in Nagoya City, the eldest of six brothers. His family's business Nakamura Photo Studio w ...

's visit to Mongolia in August 1991, following the visit by

Dumaagiin Sodnom Dumaagiin Sodnom ( mn, Думаагийн Содном; born 14 July 1933) is a Mongolian political figure who served as Prime Minister of Mongolia from 1984 to 1990. Biography Sodnom was born in the Örgön District of Dornogovi Province on 1 ...

to Japan in March 1990, became the first visits to Mongolia by a non- Eastern Bloc minister and prime minister, respectively. More recently Japan and Mongolia have been seeking relationship improvements. In 2008, the

Japan Bank for International Cooperation The , JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency that was created on October 1, 1999, through the merger of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). JBIC became the in ...

financed a () loan for the

government of Mongolia Politics of Mongolia takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential multi-party representative democracy. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government, and the Cabinet. The President is the head of state, ...

to build a new international airport in

Töv Province Töv ( mn, Төв, , ; "central") is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The national capital Ulaanbaatar is located roughly at its center, but the city itself is administrated as an independent municipality. Geography The Aimag inc ...

to service

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

(currently serviced by

Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport,, formerly called Chinggis Khaan International Airport, from 2005 to 2020 , is a semi-operational international airport serving Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, situated southwest of the capital. Largely replaced b ...

). Construction lasted between 2012 and 2017. The new airport is from the capital and is designed to handle 1.65 million passengers annually. Almost 40% of Mongolians regard Japan as a more important foreign partner than China.

History

Mongol invasions

Twentieth century

Before World War II

Since World War II

See also

References

Cross-reference

Reference bibliography