Japan-France Relations (Overview)

October 2012

Overview

1. Long-established, broad-based

Relations between Japan and France have long been friendly, and exchanges take place in a wide variety of fields involving both government and private organizations. The election of President Chirac (1995), who is a well- known expert on Japan, has given a decisive impulse to the Japanese- French partnership and promises even greater interaction in the future.
Political dialog is consolidated, and even accelerated, by frequent mutual visits at the highest level, the latest being the visit to France of Prime Minister Mori in May 2000 and the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Jospin in December 1999.
In economic areas, France since 1992 has been engaged in a program called "Le Japon c'est possible" to promote exports to and investments in Japan and encourage mutual understanding.
This program has proven successful: France became the largest foreign investor in Japan during fiscal year 1999.
Cultural exchanges have also experienced a spectacular acceleration with the events which took place during the 'France Year' (1998-99) in Japan and the 'Japan Year' (1997-98) in France.
These events were highly valued in both countries and provided the bases for diversified and reinforced cooperation.
As Japan is heading the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa summit in July 2000, and France is chairing the European Union Presidency from the first of July, we hope to see even closer cooperation in the coming months.

2. The emergence of Japanophile President Chirac and what it bodes for Japan-France relations

(1) President Chirac is perhaps better informed about and more friendly toward Japan than any other politician in France. He is said to have visited Japan more than 40 times, and probably knows more about Japan than any other politician outside of Japan.

(2) President Chirac has provided the engine for the further development of bilateral relations in recent years. Especially, the state visit of President Chirac in November 1996 provided the momentum for the signing with Prime Minister Hashimoto of the '20 Actions for the 21st Century.'

(3) This action plan has already borne fruit. The agreement on working holidays was signed in January of 1999, and a long-term exchange program for diplomats was also started. We have started preliminary talks on a future 'Social Security Agreement.'

(4) Also in the field of development cooperation, Japan and France, the world's two major donors, share fundamental views on the ways of development assistance, and they make close co-operation on development issues.

Japan-France Political Dialog

Given the global responsibilities that both countries share toward the international community, Japan considers it important to strengthen the relations with France through political dialog at many different levels. Stronger relations with France, one of the leading countries of Europe, will enable Japan to pursue more active relations with the entire continent. France's support of Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council exemplifies symbolically this French position. On the French part also, France does understand the political weight that Japan holds in the international community and is eager to seek a more active political dialog with Japan.
The Japan-France political dialog has already produced a number of results, examples of which would be the joint communiques on "reciprocal investments," "co-operation in science and technology," "globalization for the benefit of all," and "development assistance," issued on the occasion of the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Jospin in December 1999.

Recent High-Level Japan-France Visits

From Japan to France
Year	Month	Name
1999	January	Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi
2000	January	Foreign Minister Yohei Kono
2000	May	Prime Minister Yoshihiro Mori
2001	June	Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
2002	January	Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka
2003	January	Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi
2003	April	Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
2003	April	Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi

From France to Japan
Year	Month	Name
1999	January	Minister of Defense Alain Richard
1999	February	Minister of Culture and Communication Catherine Trautmann
1999	March	President of Supreme Court Pierre Truche
1999	April	President of Friendship Group of Upper House between Japan and France Jacque Valade
1999	May	President of Friendship Group of Lower House between Japan and France Michel Suchod
1999	September	Japan-France Dialog Forum
1999	September	President of Lower House Laurent Fabius
1999	September	Consultation of Foreign Ministers between France and Japan
1999	October	Minister of Budget Christian Sautter
1999	October	Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Dominique Starauss-Khan
1999	December	Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
2004	February	Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin
2005	March	President Jacques Chirac
2008	April	Prime Minister Francois Fillon
2010	March	Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner
2010	July	Prime Minister Francois Fillon

Economic Relations

Trade and Investment

Since 1993 Japanese imports of French goods have widened in tandem with an upswing in the level of Japanese direct investment in the French marketplace. The effective French export promotion campaign, "Le Japon c'est possible," aimed at Japan, as well as heightened efforts inside Japan itself to import more French merchandise, are two of the factors behind this uptrend in bilateral trade and investment.

1. As Japanese trade statistics illustrate, 1994 brought a reversal in the surplus Japan had been running in its trade with France since 1991. In particular, Japanese exports to France were valued at $5.26 billion in 1994, down 3.6 percent from the year before. By contrast, French exports to Japan (including Airbus purchases) measured over $5.683 billion, up 11 percent year-on-year. This left Japan with a bilateral trade deficit of $423 million (which incidentally widened to $626 million in 1995). Though the 1993 collapse of the speculative bubble in Japan's economy put trade with France on a general softening trend, since 1994 trade has been expanding again in value terms.

2. According to data for 1995, cars, computers, photocopiers, motorcycles, and camcorders are among the top items Japan now exports to France, whereas liquor products, wine, airplanes, and purses are the main items now imported from France.

3. In project number, France ranks second only to Britain as a target of corporate Japanese direct investment in the EU market. Though the annual value of direct investment in France had been steadily slipping from its 1990 peak, it surged sharply in 1995 (to over $1.524 billion, or 3.6 times the record for the previous year). This turnaround is largely one outcome of French measures in 1995 to deregulate foreign investment. What is more, Japanese affiliated companies in France currently employ around 23,000 French citizens. To date, corporate Japan has pursued 1,667 investment projects in France, topping $7.916 billion in combined value (cumulative figures for fiscal years 1951 through 1995).

"Le Japon, c'est possible": Export Promotion Campaign

"Le Japon, c'est possible" is a campaign to promote exports to Japan launched by the government of France in 1992.

1. "Le Japon, c'est possible" was originally a three-year program beginning in 1992 and ending in 1994. During the program, market surveys were conducted, publicity activities engaged in, and seminars held in order to improve Japanese companies' understanding of French markets and French business principles and bolster interest among French companies in Japanese markets. The campaign was originally to be for three years from January 1992, but in March 1995 it was decided to be extended three more years through 1997.
The campaign is administered by a group of public and private bodies, mostly in France, including the French Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Economy and Finance, French Center of External Trade (CFCE), National Council of French Employers (CNPF), Chambers of Commerce, and also JETRO in Japan.

2. Examples of French companies that have been successful in the Japanese market include Michelin, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Air Liquide, Rossignol, Salomon, and Péhiney. France also exports large volumes of cognac, spirits, wine, and mineral water to Japan.

Japan-France Cooperation

Global Issues

Japan and France have cooperated on and closely coordinated their activities to deal with such global issues as regional conflicts, development, population, and AIDS.

1. Regional conflicts

To effect the Cambodian peace settlement of 1991, Japan participated in the peace-keeping operations of the United Nations in Cambodia. While there, Japanese staff cooperated with French troops stationed in the country. Japan also hosted, in conjunction with France, the International Committee for Restoration of Cambodia. In September 1994 Japan provided troops for UN peace-keeping operations in Goma, Zaire, in order to give support to Rwandan refugees. While there, the Japanese troops cooperated with French troops.

2. Development

Japan and France have engaged in joint projects in Djibouti and Madagascar primarily for the purpose of improving health and sanitation standards, thereby stirring development in Africa, home to many of the world's least developed nations. As part of these efforts, the countries have engaged in joint appraisals of French assistance in Madagascar and Japanese assistance in the Philippines.

3. Other cooperation

In February 1994 the government of Japan announced a global initiative on population and AIDS. Part of this initiative was the joint construction with France of an AIDS Prevention Center in Uganda.

Nuclear Energy

Cooperation related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy ranges widely, from research to industrial uses.

An agreement on bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy was signed in 1972 with the objective of promoting cooperation related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. This agreement was revised in 1990, taking into account the present state of cooperation and international trends regarding nuclear non-proliferation. Through this agreement, the bilateral cooperation relationship has widened to include every field from research to industrial uses of nuclear energy.

The reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from Japanese nuclear power plants is being done by COGEMA under contract with Japan's electric power companies. Reprocessed plutonium will be reused as fuel in Japan, and the nuclear waste will also be returned to Japan. Uranium enrichment for Japanese nuclear power plants is also being carried by the COGEMA under contract. French technology was introduced for the construction of the reprocessing plant being built in Rokkasho-mura (Aomori Prefecture). French and Japanese nuclear research organizations are also cooperating in research related to the safety of fast breeder reactors and light water reactors, radioactive waste, and nuclear fusion technology, etc.

Academic and Cultural Exchanges

Japanese-French Exchanges

The JET program invites applicants from France to serve as international liaison personnel in local governments or as foreign language assistants to teach in junior and senior high schools in Japan. Since the program's inception in 1989, 96 young French men and women have been invited to Japan to work in regions throughout the country.
The Japanese government also awards scholarships every year to over 30 French graduate students* to conduct research in Japan. Another 15 or so French students majoring in Japanese language or culture come to Japan to study.
An agreement to encourage exchanges among universities was signed by more than 100 (104) universities in 1984. This agreement has also enabled Japanese students to study in France.
Exchanges of research personnel are also growing in both countries. The Japan Science Foundation and the Science and Technology Agency have invited French researchers to Japan, and some 100 or more Japanese researchers journey to France every year for short- or long-term stays. In addition to these programs, independent research institutes also send and invite researchers.
* 33 students were awarded scholarships in 1995 and 30 in 1994.

"Maison de la Culture du Japon á Paris"

The Maison de la Culture du Japon (Japanese Culture Center) being built in Paris is scheduled to begin its activities in the fall of 1997. It is expected to become a hub of cultural interchange between Japan and France and between Japan and Europe.

When President Mitterrand made an official visit to Japan in 1982, the two countries' leaders agreed to build a Maison de la Culture du Japon á Paris.
As the hub of cultural exchanges between Japan and France and between Japan and Europe, the new center will provide a venue for informal and unconstrained meetings among people in a wide variety of fields and a lively framework for the introduction of Japanese culture.

Construction is proceeding smoothly through cooperation between the Japanese and French governments and private sectors; the center's activities are expected to begin in earnest in the fall of 1997.

The center will be located in the 15th district, at 26 rue de la Fédération. It will have an area of 10,000 square meters, six stories not counting five basement floors, a 500-square-meter multipurpose hall capable of housing 450 people, a 440-square-meter exhibition hall, a 400-square-meter library housing 30,000 books, a 140-square-meter lecture hall seating 100, a tea room, etc.

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