Italy–Japan relations

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Italy–Japan relations

Italy	Japan

Embassy of Italy in Japan

Italy–Japan relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Italian Republic and Japan.

Bilateral relations between Japan and Italy formally began on 25 August 1866, but the first contacts between the two countries date back at least to the 16th century, when the first Japanese mission to Europe arrived in Rome in 1585 led by Itō Mancio.

In the 19th century Italy and Japan saw great changes in their political and social structure, with the former gaining national unity in 1861 and the latter entering, from 1868, into a process of profound modernisation along Western lines that took the name of the Meiji Restoration. In this same period relations became increasingly close, culminating in the participation of the two countries as allies in both World Wars.

After the Second World War, Italy and Japan both experienced a period of strong economic growth, which enabled them to recover from the disastrous situation in which they found themselves after the end of the conflict and to forge renewed economic and trade agreements, as well as active scientific cooperation for technological development.

Nowadays, Italy and Japan enjoy a cordial and friendly relationship. Italy is one of the best loved countries in Japan and one of the most popular European tourist destinations, thanks above all to the success of the 'Made in Italy' brand which has contributed, since the 1990s, to increasing Japanese appreciation of Italian culture.

Italy has an embassy in Tokyo and Japan has an embassy in Rome.

First contacts[]

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Although relations between Japan and Italy formally began with the signing of the first treaty of friendship in 1866, the first contacts between the two nations can be traced back to the 13th century, when Marco Polo learned of the existence of Japan, which he called Cipango (or Zipangu).^[1] Although he never set foot on Japanese soil, the Venetian navigator described the Japanese country as a large independent island full of riches.

Japan remained relatively isolated and therefore immune to Western influence at least until 1542, when the first European ship landed in the Asian country together with the first Portuguese and Italian Jesuits. The Japanese Roman Catholic Christian daimyōs dispatched the Tenshō embassy to Pope Gregory XIII. This was the first Japanese mission in a foreign land on the initiative of the missionary Alessandro Valignano and the Christian daimyō Ōtomo Sōrin, Ōmura Sumitada and Arima Harunobu. The delegation consisted of four young dignitaries: Itō Mancio, Giuliano Nakaura, Martino Hara and Michele Chijiwa, joined by the Jesuit father Diogo de Mesquita, who acted as their interpreter.^[2]

They arrived in Italy in 1585 and were received in Rome by Pope Gregory XIII and especially by his successor Pope Sixtus V, who made them a gift of the Church of Santa Maria dell'Orto, which since then has been the place of worship of reference for the Japanese Catholic community in the Italian capital. In 1615, the daimyō of Sendai, Date Masamune, sent another delegation headed by the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga. The latter met Pope Paul V, and formally requested a trade treaty between Japan and Mexico (then Viceroyalty of New Spain), as well as the sending of Christian missionaries to Japan.

Timeline[]

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• In 1899, they both dispatched armies to protect expatriates in China (Boxer Rebellion).
• In 1914, they were both members of the Allied Powers and fought against Germany (World War I).
• In 1919, Italy supported Japanese racial equality proposal against the Great Powers.
• During the Siberian Intervention, they allied and fought against Communists.
• In 1940, they were both members of the Axis Powers after signing the Tripartite Pact (World War II).

See also[]

• Foreign relations of Italy
• Foreign relations of Japan

Country comparison[]

	Italian Republic	Japan
Flag
Coat of Arms
Population	60,579,711	125,570,000
Area	301,338 km2 (116,346 sq mi)	377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi)
Population density	200/km2 (519 /sq mi)	344/km2 (891/sq mi)
Capital	Rome	Tokyo
Largest city	Rome – 3,748,148 (6,144,600 Metro)	Tokyo – 13,185,502 (35,682,460 Metro)
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
First leader	King Victor Emmanuel II Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour	Emperor Jimmu Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi
Current leader	President: Sergio Mattarella Prime Minister: Mario Draghi	Emperor: Naruhito Prime Minister: Yoshihide Suga
Official languages	Italian	Japanese
Main religions	83.3% Christianity 12.4% non-religious 3.7 Islam 0.6% Other religions	83.9% Shintoism, 7.14% Buddhism, 2% Christianity, 7.8% other
Ethnic groups	93.5% Italian 1.5% Romanian 1% North African 4% Other	98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other
GDP (PPP)	$2.610 trillion ($43,376 per capita)	$5.586 trillion ($44,585 per capita)

References[]

• Baskett, Michael (2009). "All Beautiful Fascists?: Axis Film Culture in Imperial Japan" in The Culture of Japanese Fascism, ed. Alan Tansman. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 212–234. ISBN 0822344521

External links[]

• Presenza Italiana in Giappone 2010" (Japanese: 日本におけるイタリア企業便覧 2010年版; Archive). Italian Trade Commission.