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An Overview of Japan-Canada Relations

Relations in General

Japan and Canada have continued to enjoy good relations in recent years. Prior to this official visit to Canada by Prime Chreien's Minister Hashimoto, Prime Minister Chreien paid an official visit to Japan in November, 1996. At the time of Prime Minister visit to Japan, both governments agreed on the "Canada and Japan: Agenda for Cooperation", which lists the areas where the governments of Japan and Canada will promot bilateral cooperation, building on the solid friendship which already exists between both countries. The text of "Canada and Japan: Agenda for Cooperation" is attached.

Before this exchange, Prime Minister Murayama visited Canada in June, 1995 to attend the G7 Summit in Halifax, and Prime Minister Chreien visited Japan for the Osaka APEC meeting the following November. In September, 1996 Foreign Minister Ikeda visited Canada and his Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister Axworthy visited Japan in 1997. Talks between the prime ministers and foreign ministers have also been held during the G7 Summit meetings, APEC, the United Nations General Assembly and at other international meetings.

As industrialized nations who share common values, Japan and Canada have utilized this traditionally friendly relationship a a foundation for close policy coordination in the UN, G7, OECD and other international fora. Japan also works in close contact and consultation with Canada on UN peace-keeping operations, drawing on Canada's long experience in peace-keeping missions. For example, Japan dispatched 45 people to UNDOF in February, 1996 to join the Canadian PKO there.

As an Atlantic nation, Canada is an important member of NATO and the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). At the same time, Canada has also identified itself as a Pacifi nation. It has made 1997, a year in which Canada will host APEC the "Year of Asia Pacific". It is also working to strengthen its relations with other member of the Asia Pacific, and hopes to establish even closer ties with Japan in this context. Japan welcomes this initiative and considers it significant that Prime Minister Hashimoto will pay a visit to Canada near the conclusion of this very special year.

Economic Relations

The economic relationship between Japan and Canada is fundamentally sound and ranks as one of the most stable and balanced bilateral economic relationships Japan has with any of its trading partners. Both trade and investment are developing steadily.

Cultural, Youth and Private Exchange

Though Canada (eastern Canada in particular) has long been preoccupied with developments in Europe and North America, for some years now, the Canadian government is convinced that stronger ties with countries of the Asia-Pacific region will improve Canada's own opportunities in the century ahead. Accordingly, it has begun working on new national programs and initiatives, such as CYAP, which will assist it in bolstering those ties. Since the signing of the Canada-Japan Cultural Agreement in 1976, several developments have spurred an uptrend in the level of cultural exchange with Japan. The Canadian government has come out with policies supportive of cultural pluralism. The Japanese government has made a fresh contribution of $1.4 million to the Japan-Canada Fund which is administered by the Canada Council. (This Fund was originally set up in 1987 to foster bilateral exchange with Japan in the field of fine arts.) In addition, the "infrastructure" for heightened cultural exchange has been further enhanced with the opening of the Japan Foundation, Toronto (originally established in 1990 as a Japan Foundation Regional Office and upgraded in 1995 to the status of a Japan Foundation Culture Centre).

The autumn of 1995 saw Canada hold "Today's Japan", a large Japanese arts festival at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. The festival was a major event designed to showcase various modern Japanese art forms, and through its duration created much sensation, drawing more than 370,000 visitors in all. During the period of the festival, an authentic Zen-style Japanese garden was opened at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The opening ceremony forb the Japanese garden was attended by members of the Japanese Imperial Family, His and Her Imperial Highnesses, Prince and Princess Takamadonomiya.

Japan was selected as the theme country for the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa in May, 1997. The city of Tonami in Toyama Prefecture, one of Japan's premier tulip-growing regions, sent a mission to the festival. There was also a series of events highlighting Japanese culture, including a modern woodcut print exhibition, a Calligraphy Exhibition and demonstration, a kimono fashion show, a violin concert, Ikebana demonstrations and exhibitions and a tea ceremony. These events were extremely popular with Canadian people and all events were, in fact, filled to capacity. At Major's Hill Park, the main venue of the Canadian Tulip Festival, the Tonami Tulip House was erected and became the means of introducing aspects of Japanese culture. Japanese folk songs and dances, along with the lion dance, were performed every day during the Festival, entertaining the visitors. It is said that approximately 800,000 people visited the Festival.

In the field of youth exchange, since 1988, an increasing number of Canadians has been participating in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET Programme), which provides jobs for Assistant Language Teachers and Coordinators for International Relations at the local government level. In 1997, 427 out of 1,462 Canadian applicants were accepted as JET participants. That adds up to 857 young Canadians taking part in the JET Programme in 1997 since that number includes 430 of the 1996 JET participants who decided to renew their contracts. As of 1997, the number of Canadian youth who have stayed in Japan for one to three years on the JET Programme since its start in Canada in 1988 has totalled 2957, almost 3,000 people.

Also, the Working Holiday Visa Programme has been a very effective facilitator of youth exchange. Under this programme, Canadian and Japanese youth between the ages of 18 and 30 can apply for a working visa, which is valid for 12 months, to allow them to cover the costs of their stay in the respective countries. In 1997, 3500 Japanese youth have visited Canada on this program.

Regarding private level exchange, sister-city exchanges between Japan and Canada have intensified over the years. On a state or municipal basis, the two countries now have 61 sister-city affiliations in total (as of November, 1997).

In other words, exchange at the community level has already become quite diversified and extensive, and it is gaining momentum. Canadian citizens who have been to Japan have organized and now lead a variety of grassroots activities in cultural exchange, from flower arrangements and bonsai to the martial arts, just to name a few. What is more, activities of this kind are becoming increasingly popular and widespread. Among private goodwill organizations, the Canada-Japan Society was established in Tokyo in 1930. Similarly, in Canada, seven Japan-Canada societies were established in cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Calgary. October, 1989 witnessed the establishment of the Japan Society, a Toronto-based organization of major Japanese and Canadian companies nationwide.

The Japanese Embassy and Consulates General have, for some years now, sponsored a number of public relations and cultural events in Canada, including Japan Week and several other big cultural events. Apart from being major attention getters, these activities have gone a long way toward fostering the Canadian public's interest in and understanding of Japan. The Japanese Embassy in Ottawa organizes "Japan Fest" and presents a series of cultural events each fall.

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