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France–Japan relations

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Franco-Japanese relations
Map indicating locations of France and Japan

France
Japan

The history of relations between France and Japan goes back to the early 17th century, when a Japanese samurai and ambassador on his way to Rome landed for a few days in Saint-Tropez and created a sensation. France and Japan have enjoyed a very robust and progressive relationship spanning centuries through various contacts in each other's countries by senior representatives, strategic efforts, and cultural exchanges.

Chronology of Franco-Japanese relations

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17th–18th centuries

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17th-century account of Hasekura's visit to France

19th century

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Main article: France-Japan relations (19th century)
French family in Yokohama, 1861
The First Japanese Embassy to Europe, in 1862
Leonce Verny directed the construction of Japan's first modern arsenal at Yokosuka from 1865.
  • 1864: Arrival of Leon Roches in Japan.
  • 1864: Bombardment of Shimonoseki by allied ships (9 British, 3 French, 4 Dutch, 1 American).
  • 1864: In November Leonce Verny arrives in Japan for the construction of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal.
  • 1865: Shibata Takenaka visits France to prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal and organize a French military mission to Japan.
  • 1865: On September 12, 1865, the Messageries Maritimes passenger liner ship Dupleix was the first to call at a Japanese port to start a new service with France, both for passengers as well as for cargoes such as Japanese silk.
The first French military mission to Japan in 1867. Jules Brunet in front, second from right.
The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898

20th century

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  • 1907: Signing of the Franco-Japanese Treaty of 1907. France took the lead in creating alliances with Japan, Russia and (informally) with Britain. Japan wanted to raise a loan in Paris, so France made the loan contingent on a Russo-Japanese agreement and a Japanese guaranty for France's strategically vulnerable possessions in Indochina. Britain encouraged the Russo-Japanese rapprochement. Thus was built the Triple Entente coalition that fought World War I.[3]
  • 1909: The first Japanese mechanical flight, a biplane glider tractored by an automobile, occurs in Ueno through the collaboration of Shiro Aihara and Le Prieur at a French military attaché in Tokyo.
  • 1910: Captain Tokugawa Yoshitoshi, trained in France as a pilot, makes the first self-propelled flight on board a Henri Farman plane.
  • 1910: Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Corporation, visits France to study spinning techniques.
  • 1918: Fourth French Military Mission to Japan (1918–1919)
  • 1919: France supported Japanese racial equality proposal in Paris Peace Conference.[4]
  • 1924: First air flight from France to Japan, by Pelletier Doisy and Besin.
  • 1925: First air flight from Japan to France, by Kawauchi and Abe.
  • 1927: French-Japanese agreement grants most favoured nations treatment to Japanese in French Indochina and to Indochinese subjects in Japan.[5]
  • 1940: Start of the Japanese invasion of French Indochina.[6]
  • 1941: Japan pressures the Vichy France into making important military concessions in French Indochina, but leaves the French army and administration intact.
  • 1943: Guangzhouwan, a small French enclave on the southern coast of China, is occupied by the Japanese.
  • 1945: Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina—Japanese troops rapidly attack and take full control of French Indochina, which Japan maintains until its defeat several months later in September 1945.[7]
  • 1946–1950: Japanese war criminals are tried in Saigon for their action in Indochina during the war.[8]
  • 1952: First Air France flight to Japan.
  • 1997: "Year of Japan in France" and the opening of a Japanese cultural centre in Paris.[9]
  • 1998: "Year of France in Japan" in which 400 events took place across Japan to celebrate France and its people.[10]

Franco-Japanese relations today

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In June 1996, in Lyon, as part of the G7 summit which took place thanks to the crucial role played by the Consul General of Japan, Louis Michallet, Ryutaro Hashimoto and Jacques Chirac decided to organize "The Year of Japan in France", from April 1997 to March 1998 in order to correct the superficial and sometimes inaccurate understanding of Japanese culture.[11] The start of that year coincided with the inauguration of the House of Culture of Japan in Paris. "The Year of France in Japan" followed "the Year of Japan", the combination of these two events inaugurating Franco-Japanese relations for the 21st century.[12]

In June 2005, France and Japan announced a collaboration to build the next generation supersonic commercial aircraft, a successor to the Concorde. Commercial service is not expected until 2050.[13][14]

Laurent Fabius, French Foreign Minister, met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a courtesy call during a visit to Japan from 5 October to 6 October 2014.[15] The meeting included Abe expressing his condolences for the ISIL beheading of French backpacker Hervé Gourdel and both agreed on future meetings on defense cooperation and tackling global warming.[16]

Today many parts of Japanese pop culture such as manga and anime have become very popular among French people.[17][18]

Nuclear collaborations

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The two countries have been collaborating closely in the area of fission energy generation. In September 2013, two years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has officially accepted help from France for the decommission and dismantle of Fukushima's reactors.[19] Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a Japanese corporation and France's Areva began cooperating on constructing a nuclear reactor in Turkey in 2013.[20]

On 3 May 2023 French Minister for Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi signed an agreement to develop sodium-cooled fast reactors.[21][22]

French in Japan

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Japanese in France

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Multilateral organizations

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Both nations are members of the United Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, G7 and G20 major economies, World Trade Organization, and among others.

Resident diplomatic missions

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  • Embassy of France in Tokyo
    Embassy of France in Tokyo
  • Embassy of Japan in Paris
    Embassy of Japan in Paris

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thierry Mormane : "La prise de possession de l'île d'Urup par la flotte anglo-française en 1855", Revue Cipango, "Cahiers d'études japonaises", No 11 hiver 2004 pp. 209-236.
  2. ^ Source and [1] Archived 2008-01-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Ewen W. Edwards, "The Far Eastern Agreements of 1907". Journal of Modern History 26.4 (1954): 340-355. JSTOR 1876111
  4. ^ Guoqi Xu; Xu Guoqui; guo qi Xu (2005). China and the Great War: China's Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization. Cambridge UP. p. 258. ISBN 9780521842129.
  5. ^ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 68, pp. 236-239.
  6. ^ John E. Dreifort, "Japan's advance into Indochina, 1940: the French Response". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 13.2 (1982): 279-295.
  7. ^ Kiyoko Kurusu Nitz, "Japanese Military Policy towards French Indochina during the Second World War: The Road to the Meigo Sakusen (9 March 1945)". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 14.2 (1983): 328-350.
  8. ^ Beatrice Trefalt, "Japanese War Criminals in Indochina and the French Pursuit of Justice: Local and International Constraints". Journal of Contemporary History 49.4 (2014): 727-742.
  9. ^ "A burst of fireworks for 'Japan in France'". The Deseret News. 12 May 1997. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Statue illumination kicks off 'Year of France' event". The Japan Times. 28 April 1998. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Louis Michallet".
  12. ^ Yamata, Kikou (1998). Le mois sans dieux. 5, rue Bugeaud 69005 Lyon: Jacques Andre Editeur. pp. 1–11. Foreword and prefaces. ISBN 2-907922-61-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ Zaun, Todd (June 16, 2005), France and Japan hope Concorde's successor is in the wings, N.Y. Times, retrieved 2014-08-01
  14. ^ EADS reveals hypersonic successor to Concorde, France 24, 2011-06-20, retrieved 2014-08-01
  15. ^ "Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by H.E. Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, France". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Japan-France Foreign Ministers' Meeting". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  17. ^ Clothilde, Sabre (2012). "Neojaponism and pop culture. New Japanese exoticism in France". Regioninės Studijos. 2012, [No.] 6, the Development of 'Japan' in the West: Comparative Analysis, P. 67-88. 6. Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas: 67–88.
  18. ^ "Europe's biggest manga launch: France prints 250,000 copies of One Piece's 100th edition". Euronews. 7 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Japan to accept help from France at Fukushima Daiichi". 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  20. ^ "Japan, France to enhance nuclear, defense relations". Hurriyet Daily News. The Associated Press. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  21. ^ Hernandez, America (3 May 2023). "France, Japan sign nuclear partnership deal". SaltWire Network. Reuters.
  22. ^ Mochizuki, Takashi (2 May 2023). "Japan, France to Cooperate to Develop Next-Gen Nuclear Reactors: Sankei". Bloomberg.

Further reading

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In English

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  • Aminian, Nathalie, and K. C. Fung. "Silicon Valley, Japan and France: A Comparative Study of Innovation Systems and Policies" (2019). online
  • Edwards, Ewen W. "The Far Eastern Agreements of 1907". Journal of Modern History 26.4 (1954): 340–355. online
  • Ferrier, Michaël. "France-Japan: The Coral Writers (From stereotype to prototype, in favor of rethinking a critical approach to Japan)". Contemporary French and Francophone Studies 21.1 (2017): 8-27.
  • Hokenson, Jan Walsh. Japan, France & East-West Aesthetics: French Literature, 1867-2000 (2004), 520pp.
  • Jones, Christopher S. "A Lost Tradition: Nishida Kitarō, Henri Bergson and Intuition in Political Philosophy". Social Science Japan Journal 5.1 (2002): 55–70.
  • Lederman, Leonard L. "A comparative analysis of civilian technology strategies among some nations: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States". Policy Studies Journal 22.2 (1994): 279–295.
  • Lehmann, Jean-Pierre. "France, Japan, Europe, and industrial competition: the automotive case". International Affairs 68.1 (1992): 37–53.
  • Locke, Robert R. Management & Higher Education since 1940: The Influence of America & Japan on West Germany, Great Britain & France (1989), 328pp.
  • Put, Max. Plunder & Pleasure: Japanese Art in the West, 1860-1930 (2000), 151pp covers 1860 to 1930.
  • Silberman, Bernard S. Cages of Reason: The Rise of the Rational State in France, Japan, the United States & Great Britain (1993) 487pp; covers 20th century
  • Slaymaker, Doug. Confluences: Postwar Japan & France. 2002 185 pp. covers 1945 to 1999.
  • White, John Albert. Transition to Global Rivalry: Alliance Diplomacy & the Quadruple Entente, 1895-1907 (1995) 344 pp. re France, Japan, Russia, Britain

Other languages

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  • Maurice Pinguet, Le Texte Japon, introuvables et inédits, Seuil, 2009.
  • Polak, Christian. (2001). Soie et lumières: L'âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950). Tokyo: Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon, Hachette Fujin Gahōsha (アシェット婦人画報社).
  • Polak, Christian. (2002). 絹と光: 知られざる日仏交流100年の歴史 (江戶時代-1950年代) Kinu to hikariō: shirarezaru Nichi-Futsu kōryū 100-nen no rekishi (Edo jidai-1950-nendai). Tokyo: Ashetto Fujin Gahōsha, 2002. ISBN 978-4-573-06210-8; OCLC 50875162
  • Michael Ferrier, La Tentation de la France, la Tentation du Japon : regards croisés, éd. Picquier, 2003 ISBN 2-87730-663-1
  • Michael Ferrier, Japon, la Barrière des Rencontres, éd. Cécile Defaut, 2009 ISBN 9782350180748
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