Japan-Czech Republic Relations (Overview)

September 2011

Historical overview of bilateral relations

Japan and then-Czechoslovakia established diplomatic relations in 1919, when the latter gained its independence with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. Overcoming a lengthy period of diplomatic relations suspension since 1939, Japan resumed its ties with Czechoslovakia in 1957.
When the Czech Republic declared independence in 1993, Japan was among the first countries to welcome the new state by giving it diplomatic recognition. In 2007, both countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Traditionally Japan and the Czech Republic (including the Czechoslovakia era) had enjoyed good relations with no significant pending issues between them, though the differences in political and economic systems kept their relations to a limited extent until the wave of democratization swept over Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. Recently, relations have become much closer in a variety of fields, including political, economic, and cultural areas.

Number of Residents

Number of Japanese Nationals residing in Czech: 1,530 (Oct. 2009)

Number of Czech Nationals residing in Japan: 241 (Dec. 2004)

Economic Relations

Economic relations between Japan and the Czech Republic are developing steadily with the rapid growth of large-scale direct investment from Japan in the Czech Republic. Japan's trade figures with the Czech Republic for 2009 show that Japan exported goods worth 158.5 billion yen to the country, with electrical machinery being the main items; imports, mainly mechanical component, reached 39.8 billion yen.

Economic Cooperation

With the view that the shift in Central and Eastern European countries to democracy and the market economy will contribute to the peace and stability of the entire European region, Japan has been extending assistance, focusing on technical cooperation, to the Czech Republic for these systemic changes. But recently, because the reforms being carried out by the Czech Republic, which joined the OECD, are progressing favorably, the scale of Japanese cooperation has tended to be decreased in scale.

List of Exchange of Notes

Loans: None

Grants: 382 million yen

Technical Assistance: 712 million yen

Cultural Exchanges

Cultural exchanges between the two countries, particularly from 1989, have become more active at both the government and private-sector levels. Besides inviting students, media people, teachers, diplomats, and others to Japan, Japan has also been organizing cultural events, such as concerts, exhibitions, and demonstrations, to promote cultural understanding between the Czech and Japanese peoples.
In addition, various private groups have been organizing cultural events. Both countries have their own respective friendship societies that are active in promoting goodwill and friendship between the Japanese and Czech peoples.
Exchanges are also increasing at a regional level, with Takasaki and Pilsen, Kusatsu and Karlovy Vary, Kyoto and Prague, and Tsukiyono (Minakami) and Uhersky Brod having recently formed sister city relationships.

VIP Visits

From Japan to the Czech Republic

Year	Name
1996	Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayako
1997	Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda President of the House of Councilors Juro Saito
2000	Minister of Finance Kiichi Miyazawa
2001	Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Atsuko Toyama Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka
2002	Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress
2003	Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
2005	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa
2008	Vice-Speaker of the House of Representative Takahiro Yokomichi
2009	Prime Minister Taro Aso

From the Czech Republic and Japan

Year	Name
1996	Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus
1997	President of the Senate Petr Pithart
1999	Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kavan
2002	Minister of Finance Jiri Rusnok
2005	Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek
2007	President Vaclav Klaus
2008	President Vaclav Klaus
2009	President of the Senate Premysl Sobotka

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