Japan

Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Japan were established in 1895 with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, which allowed the reciprocal opening of diplomatic representations in 1897 and paved the way for the beginning of the Japanese immigration in 1908.

Japan is one of Brazil's main partners in Asia. Since 2014, the two countries have maintained a Strategic and Global Partnership, marked by traditional human ties, Brazil's interest in deepening cooperation in ST&I, the importance of bilateral trade and investment flows, and coordination in international issues.

The Brazilian community in Japan is the fifth largest abroad, with nearly 205,000 people. The community of Japanese descendants (‘nikkei’) in Brazil is of over 2 million people - the largest population of Japanese descent outside of Japan. This human bond is one of the main assets of Brazil-Japan relations and promotes dialogue and cooperation between the two countries.

In the field of technical cooperation, the bilateral relationship has been a reference in national development processes for over fifty years. In the last decades, the bilateral relationship has been of special relevance in at least two economic aspects: the strengthening of the iron mining complex in Brazil, from the 1950s, and the technological development that contributed to the development of tropical agriculture in the Cerrado region, particularly of soybean, since the 1970s (with the Japanese-Brazilian Cooperation Program for the Development of the Cerrado regions - PRODECER).

Cooperation in science, technology and innovation is a priority theme on the bilateral agenda. Promising areas include information and communication technologies, aerospace technology, robotics, new materials, medical sciences and health, renewable energy (hydrogen), artificial intelligence, supercomputers, startups/ technological entrepreneurship, and 5G internet and its technological developments (Internet of Things – IoT, Industry 4.0, smart cities and smart farms). Also noteworthy are the wide opportunities in the area of decarbonization, such as the use of ethanol in aviation, green pig iron and biomass for electricity generation. Brazil and Japan also participate in cooperation projects with third countries, such as the implementation of the Japanese-Brazilian digital TV system in almost all of South America (and in countries of Central America, Africa and Asia) and the recently concluded Pro-Savana project in Mozambique.

Currently, Japan, the world’s third largest economy, is the 12th largest direct investor in Brazil in terms of stock (nearly $ 21 billion in 2020), and the 16th largest in terms of flow ($554 million, in 2020). There is mutual interest in expanding Japanese infrastructure investments in Brazil. In this regard, the two countries signed, in October 2016, a Memorandum of Cooperation for Investment Promotion and Economic Cooperation in the Infrastructure Sector.

 In terms of trade, Japan ranked in 2021 as Brazil's fourth largest partner in Asia and ninth in the world. That year, bilateral trade amounted to over $ 10.68 billion ($ 5.54 billion in Brazilian exports to Japan and $ 5.15 billion in Japanese exports to Brazil). Brazilian exports to Japan are mostly made up of commodities (iron ore, poultry, coffee, aluminum and maize), and imports from Japan are almost entirely comprised of manufactured goods (auto parts, platforms and vessels, chemicals, measurement and control instruments and integrated circuits).

Chronology of bilateral relations

2019 – Meeting with Japan’s special envoy on the occasion of the presidential inauguration (Brasilia, 2 January)

2018 – Princess Mako visits Brazil (July 18th to 28th) 

2018 – Visit to Brazil by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono (May 19th and 20th) and Princess Mako (July 18th to 28th) on the occasion of the celebrations of the 110 Years of Japanese Immigration.

2018 – Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes visits  Japan (May 14)

2018 – Crown Prince Naruhito visit Brazil to participate in the 8th World Water Forum (18-20 March) 

2017 – Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visit the Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo (November 4) 

2016 – President Michel Temer visits Japan (October 18th and 19th)

2016 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Brazil on the occasion of the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (August 21)

2015 – Prince and Princess Akishino visit Brazil as part of the commemorations of the 120 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations (October 28th to November 8th)

2015 – Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira visits Japan (28 and 29 July)

2014 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Brazil. On the occasion, bilateral relations were raised to the level of Strategic and Global Partnership. Establishment of dialogue between foreign ministers (31 July to 2 August)

2014 – Princess Takamado visits Brazil during the World Cup (June 19th and 20th)

2012 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba visits Brazil and heads the Japanese delegation to the Rio+20 Conference (June 20 and 21)

2011 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto visits Brazil (30 June) 

2011 – Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota visits  Japan (April 16)

2011 – Establishment of the “Solidary Brazil Movement” for the victims of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami, coordinated by the Embassy in Tokyo (March 26)

2009 – First Meeting of the Brazil-Japan Trade and Investment Promotion Joint Committee (February)

2008 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participates in the G8+G5 Summit in Hokkaido (July 8-9)

2008 – Crown Prince  Naruhito and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Akira Amari, visit Brazil on the occasion of the Year of the Brazil-Japan Exchange (Centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil)

2006 – Adoption of the digital television standard based on the Japanese ISDB-T system. The number of Brazilians residing in Japan exceeds 300 thousand.

2005 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits Japan (May). Signing of the Joint Program on the Strenghtening of Economic Relations. 

2004 – Foreign minister Celso Amorim visits Japan and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits Brazil. Establishment of the Brazil-Japan Political Consultations Mechanism.

2002 – Foreign minister Celso Lafer visits Japan

1998 – Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi visits Brazil and Minister of Foreign Affairs Luiz Felipe Lampreia visits Japan

1997 – Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visit  Brazil

1996 – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso visits Japan and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto visits Brazil

1995 – Vice President Marco Maciel visits Japan and Princess Nori visits Brazil on the occasion of the Centenary of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation of 1895

1994 – The  Minister of Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono visits Brazil 

1990s – Beginning of Brazilian emigration to Japan

1988 – Prince Fumihito visits  Brazil (80 years of Japanese immigration)

1984 – President João Baptista Figueiredo visits Japan

1982 – Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki and Prince Naruhito visit Brazil

1978 – Launch of the Japanese-Brazilian Cooperation Program for the Development of the Cerrado regions (PRODECER)

1978 – Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko visit Brazil (70 years of Japanese immigration)

1976 – President Ernesto Geisel visits Japan

1974 – Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visit Brazil

1967 – Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko visit Brazil

1959 – Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi visits  Brazil

1958 – Prince and Princess Mikasa visit Brazil (50 years of Japanese immigration)

1952 – Diplomatic relations are re-established

1942 – Diplomatic relations are broken off

1928 – Beginning of Japanese immigration to the Amazon

1908 – Beginning of Japanese immigration to Brazil (arrival of the Kasato Maru ship)

1897 – Reciprocal opening of diplomatic representations in each country

1895 – Signing of the Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty