Japan–New Zealand relations refers to the

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 ...

between Japan and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Both nations are members of

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

Australia Group The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to i ...

, CPTPP, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

History

Keith Holyoake and Masayoshi Ohira cropped 2 Keith Holyoake and Masayoshi Ohira 197210

Commodore John Martin, RNZN and Vice Admiral Yasushi Matsushita, JMSDF in 2012

Initial contact between Japan and New Zealand was via

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as New Zealand was a part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. In 1898 Arthur Stanhope Aldrich was appointed as an honorary consul in New Zealand after retiring from a career in the Japanese civil service. In 1928, while New Zealand was a self-governing dominion within the British Empire, Japan and New Zealand signed a provisional arrangement concerning commerce, customs and navigation.Japan-New Zealand Relations (Basic Data)
/ref> Japan opened a consulate in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in 1938 but this closed in 1942 after Japan entered World War II. 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 opposing ...

, New Zealand forces fought against Japan, primarily in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

and in the waters surrounding Japan.War in the Pacific Page 2 – The war against Japan
/ref> Towards the end of the war, in 1944, New Zealand warships HMNZS ''Achilles'' and HMNZS ''Gambia'' bombarded the Japanese coast. The war in the Pacific soon ended after the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. New Zealand troops known as

J Force J Force (sometimes referred to as "Jayforce") was the name given to the New Zealand forces that were allocated to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) which occupied Japan following the end of the Second World War. The force was deploy ...

occupied Japan after the war to help with clean-up and reconstruction. New Zealand and Australia both favoured a harsh treaty with Japan after 1945. However Australia's fear of a Japanese threat was greater, while New Zealand regarded Europe as the most likely area of future conflict. However when Washington desired a softer approach to Japan, New Zealand and Australia both wanted American guarantees for their security. The U.S. did this with the three-way ANZUS Pact signed in San Francisco in September 1951 before the peace conference opened. In 1952, New Zealand and Japan established diplomatic relations and that same year, New Zealand opened a diplomatic legation in Tokyo. The following year, Japan opened a legation in Wellington. In 1955, Prime Minister Sidney Holland became the first New Zealand head of government to pay an official visit to Japan. The visit was reciprocated in 1957 by Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. In 1958 the two nations signed a commercial treaty that began their modern economic relationship. New Zealand showed little interest in trade with Japan in the 1950s. However it feared losing its British market for agricultural products. It was clear that with mainland China was under hostile Communist control more trade with Japan would be wise. Since 1958, Japan and New Zealand have developed strong political ties with common views and a shared interest in the stability, growth and development of the Asia Pacific region.MFAT: Our relationship with Japan
/ref> In April 2012, both nations celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations. In July 2021 despite

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

spreading in the worldwide, many New Zealand Olympic teams were travelled to Japan during

2020 Summer Olympics 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 ...

. As of result, New Zealand team collected a total of 20 medals: 7 gold, 6 silver, and 7 bronze, at these Games, surpassing the record of 18 gained at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

High-level visits

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as a Provisional Arrangement concerning Commerce, Customs and Navigation (1929); Agreement on Commerce (1958); Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (1963); Agreement concerning Reciprocal Waiving of Passport Visas and Passport Visa Fees (1970); Agreement on Fisheries (1978); Agreement on Air Services (1980) and an Agreement on Working Holiday Visas (1985).

Tourism and transportation

In 2014, 81,000 Japanese citizens visited New Zealand for tourism. That same period, over 41,000 New Zealanders visited Japan for tourism. There are direct flights between Japan and New Zealand with

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...

Trade

In 2016, trade between Japan and New Zealand totalled US$6.4 billion.MFAT: Japan
/ref> Japan's main exports to New Zealand include motor vehicles and electronic goods. New Zealand's main exports to Japan include timber, aluminium, dairy (especially cheese), kiwifruit and beef. The timber trade between New Zealand and Japan is considered so important to the production of wood products in the latter that the timber export sheds at Wellington’s port were, for a long time, adorned with

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...

portraits of

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

actors.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Japan has an embassy in

, a consulate-general in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and a consular office in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. * New Zealand has an embassy in

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

.Embassy of New Zealand in Tokyo
/ref> File:Majestic Centre, Wellington, New Zealand.jpg, Building hosting the Embassy of Japan in Wellington File:Embassy of New Zealand in Tokyo.jpg, Embassy of New Zealand in Tokyo

History

High-level visits

Bilateral agreements

Tourism and transportation

Trade

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

Further reading