Japan-Greece Relations (Overview)
June 2012
Overview
History of the Bilateral Relationship
(1) Japan and Greece have been on friendly terms with each other, except for the temporary interruption during the Second World War, ever since the "Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation" was concluded in June 1899.
(2) With respect to the exchanges of prominent Japanese people, the Director-General of Administrative Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. Takatori, visited Greece in 1988, followed by the visit of the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Tanaka, in 1989. The Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ogawa, visited Greece in March 1996. He had a meeting with Greek officials, in order to discuss the "Centennial Anniversary, Greece and Japan" in 1999, and other measures to strengthen the relations between both countries. The chairman of the "Japan Greece Friendship Diet Member Association", Mr. Hideyuki Aizawa, attended the funeral of former Prime Minister Papandreou as a special envoy in June 1996.
(3) Exchange of distinguished people between the two countries has been active. From Greece, President Sartzetakis and his wife visited Japan (to attend the funeral of the former Emperor), Prime Minister Mitsotakis visited in September and November 1990 (to attend the IOC general meeting and the enthronement ceremony), and the Minister of Merchant Marine, Mr. Pavlides, visited in 1992. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pangalos, visited as the Foreign Minister's guest in 1996, the Minister of Culture, Mr. Venizelos, in 1997, and Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Papandreou, in February 1998 to attend the IOC general meeting in Nagano.
Economic Relations
Total trade between Japan and Greece amounts to about 1 billion U.S. dollars annually. Japan has had, over the past several years, a positive trade balance at a ratio of 10 to 1 ( 8 to 1 in 1997). Exports from Japan to Greece displayed a decreasing tendency over the period 1983 to 1988, due to a drastic fall of vessel exports accompanied by a world wide depression in the shipbuilding industry. Although exports increased once again over the period 1989 to 1991 due to vessels and trucks, they remain at the levels before 1989. Exports from Greece to Japan, mainly those of cigarettes and canned fruit, have not shown much growth over the past several years.
Greece ranks lowest among the 15 EU countries as investment location of Japanese corporations, both in terms of total investment amount, and number of investment cases. Japanese tourist visits to Greece have increased over the past ten years, except in 1991, when the number plummeted, due to the Persian Gulf Crisis. Recently, around 100,000 Japanese visit Greece per year.
Cultural Exchanges
Japan and Greece have traditionally been on friendly terms - except for the temporary interruption during the Second World War- ever since the "Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation" was concluded in June 1899.
The strong foundations of the Greek-Japanese cultural relations were laid in 1982, with the conclusion of the "Cultural Agreement between Japan and Greece". Both countries are proud of their long history, tradition and rich cultural heritage.
On the occasion of the celebration of 100 years of Greek-Japanese friendly relations, many cultural events were organized in Greece by the Centennial Committee, in cooperation with the Greek Government, numerous organizations and volunteers, that helped the Greek people better understand a part of the Japanese civilization.
The year 2004 was designated as the "Japanese Cultural Year in Greece". In March of 2002, the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. K. Simitis, during his official visit to Japan, and the Japanese Prime Minister Mr. J. Koizumi, decided to implement a joint action plan, on the occasion of the assumption of Olympic Games by Athens. During that year many Japanese traditional and modern cultural events were organized in Athens.
During the EU Summit in 2002, the year 2005 was designated as the "EU-Japan Year of People-to-People Exchanges". In the framework of this program many events have taken place and are still on-going until the end of this year.
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