Brazil–Japan relations

A poster used in Japan to attract immigrants to Brazil. It reads: "Let’s go to South America with families."

First contact between Brazil and Japan was through Portuguese explorers who first arrived to Japan in 1543 and got foreign control of the city of Nagasaki; 43 years after Portugal founded its first colonies in Brazil. From 1543 to 1638, Portugal traded with Japan with stopovers in Brazil along the way, known as the Nanban trade. Many Japanese products were sold in Brazil and, during this time period, Portuguese traders sold Japanese slaves in Brazil.[5] By 1638, Portuguese traders were no longer allowed to trade in Japan, however, trade continued between the Portuguese colony in Macau. Soon afterwards, Japan entered a period of isolation.

In September 1822, Brazil obtained its independence from Portugal. In October 1868, Japan entered the Meiji period and began fostering diplomatic relations with several nations, after decades of isolation. In 1895, Brazil and Japan signed a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation.[4] In 1897, diplomatic missions were opened in each nations capitals, respectively. In June 1908, a ship from Japan carrying 790 Japanese migrants arrived to Brazil aboard the Kasato Maru; the first of many Japanese migrants to arrive to Brazil. Between 1908 and 1941, over 190,000 Japanese immigrated to Brazil searching for better opportunities in the South American nation.[6]

During World War II, Brazil broke diplomatic relations with Japan in January 1942 over the Attack on Pearl Harbor and allied itself with the Allies.[4] As a result, thousands of families of Japanese origin in Brazil were arrested or deported as potential spies or collaborators. The Brazilian government also closed hundreds of Japanese schools, seized communications equipment and forced the relocation of Japanese who lived close to the coastline. Many in the Japanese-Brazilian community were tortured, and were forced to step on an image of Emperor Hirohito, who was then considered a deity in Japan.[7] Diplomatic relations between both nations were restored in 1952.[4] Between 1953 and 1973, an additional 55,000 Japanese immigrated to Brazil.[6]

In July 1959, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi became the first Japanese head of state to visit Brazil.[8] In September 1976, Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel paid an official visit to Japan.[4] Japanese Emperor Akihito visited Brazil in 1997, his third visit to the country (his first and second visit were as Crown Prince in 1967 and 1978, respectively).[4]

In 1990, the Japanese government authorized the legal entry of Japanese and their descendants until the third generation in Japan. Since then, close to 300,000 Japanese-Brazilians have migrated to Japan and form the third-largest immigrant group in Japan, after Chinese and Koreans.[9] In recent years, however, several have returned to Brazil after saving money in Japan to purchase property in Brazil and in 2016, the Brazilian-Japanese community totaled 180,000 members.[10]

In 2015, both nations celebrated 120 years of diplomatic relations.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, June 2019.

Brazil and Japan have signed several bilateral agreements/treaties such as an Agreement on Technical Cooperation (1970); Cooperation Agreement in the field of Science and Technology (1984); Joint Program for Revitalization of Economic Relations (2005) and an Agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of multiple-entry Visas for holders of regular passports (2016).[4]

Brazil has been deeply influenced by Japan, on both an economic and humanitarian plateau, through various third parties such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Official Development Assistance (ODA) or the World Health Organization (WHO), and so on. Japan plays a significant role in fostering friendly relations and improving the climate for diplomatic activities. In order to increase relations, the frequent ministerial talks have been held between two countries. In 2014, the Brazil president, Rousseff stated that both the parties with this agreement will be able to expand political and economic high level contacts.[12] In 2016 Japan-Brazil Summit Meeting, the Prime Minister stated that Japan attaches importance to its relationship with Brazil as an important partner with which it shares fundamental values such as liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and with which it also cooperates in international fora. President Temer replied that Brazil has become a new country, and along with emphasizing Brazil's stability on the political and judicial fronts, he expressed his strong expectations of increased investment in Brazil by Japanese companies.[13] The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) sets to support open innovation by providing financing to potential companies that contribute to the improvement of Brazil and promote sustainability. [14]

Besides, Japan is involved in organizations such as Basic Human Needs (BHN) which makes sure people have the necessities of life. They also contribute to the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) working in Rio de Janeiro to implement the Rio Declaration to spur economic development. The Japanese work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing countries to educate people about the HIV virus and to help search for a cure. In addition, to support the protection of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and combat illegal deforestation Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JICA) intend to begin phase two of the project that utilizes satellite images using artificial intelligence to predict where illegal deforestation may happen next.[15]

In 2015, trade between Brazil and Japan totaled US$8 billion.[10] Brazil's main exports to Japan include: iron ore, meat, non-ferrous metal, chemicals, iron and steel. Japan's main exports to Brazil include: automobiles, automotive parts, motors, metal working machinery.[10] In 2016, Japanese direct investment in Brazil totaled US$1.4 billion. That same year, Japan ranked as the third largest trading partner for Brazil in Asia and the seventh in the world.[4] Several well known multinational Japanese companies such as Daiso, Honda, Sony, Toshiba and Toyota (among others) operate in Brazil. In 2007, Japan Airlines began purchasing Embraer made airplanes for their company.[4]

The two countries are negotiating a free trade agreement, with possible announcement until the end of 2019, following the opening of the South American market, Mercosur.[16]

In 2013, due to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ commissions, a private surveying agency in Brazil conduct a public opinion poll on the image of Japan in Brazil. Interviews show that 78% of the respondents believed that Japan and Brazil had “friendly” or “rather friendly” relations. In addition, 84% expected an increase of the importance of Japan for Brazil in the future. With regard to Japan's commitment to global issues, Brazilians recognized such areas as "environmental protection" (42%), "sustainable society" (32%) and "support for disaster prevention" (31%).[20]

Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo

• Brazil has an embassy in Tokyo and consulates-general in Hamamatsu and Nagoya.[21]
• Japan has an embassy in Brasília and consulates-general in Belém, Curitiba, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and consular offices in Recife and Porto Alegre.[22]

• Brazilians in Japan
• Brazilian schools in Japan
• Japanese Brazilians
• Japanese community of São Paulo
• Japanese School of Manaus