Japan-Chile Relations 
June 2011
Basic Data
- Diplomatic relations:
- The Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Chile was signed in 1897 (the two countries marked the 110th Anniversary of the signature in 2007).
- Japanese and ethnic Japanese:
- Number of Japanese residing in Chile: 1,152 (2007)
- Population of Japanese descent: 2,600 (2007 estimate) (There was no mass emigration to Chile; most of the ethnic Japanese moved to Chile from neighboring countries.)
- Trade with Japan (2007):
- Japan ranks third among Chile's export partners and seventh among its import partners.
- Exports: $7,246.2 million (copper and copper ore, fish, shellfish, feed, lumber, pulp)
- Imports: $1,586.3 million (autos, electrical and general machinery)
- Direct investment from Japan:
- Japanese direct investment in Chile amounted to $32.5 million in 2007. In recent years investments in such industries as mining, forestry, and fisheries have been increasing. Cumulative direct investment from 1974 to 2007 amounted to $1,871 million.
- Japan's economic cooperation:
- List of Exchange of Notes
- Loans: 27,070 million yen (cumulative total as of March 31, 2007)
- Grants: 9,008 million yen (cumulative total as of March 31, 2007)
- Technical cooperation: 39,611 million yen (cumulative total as of March 31, 2007)
Recent Visits by Eminent Persons
- Japan to Chile:
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Year Name 1981 International Trade and Industry Minister Rokusuke Tanaka 1990 House of Councillors member Kaname Endo (special envoy) 1992 Former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu 1993 Prince and Princess Hitachi 1994, January House of Representatives member Taro Nakayama, chairman of the Japan-Chile Parliamentary Friendship League 1994, March House of Representatives member Shusei Tanaka (special envoy) 1996, July President of House of Counsellors Juro Saito 1996, August Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto 1997, June Minister for Construction Sizuka Kamei 1997, September Prince and Princess Hitachi 2000, March House of Councillors Member Yutaka Inoue (Special Envoy) 2001, January Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone (as a member of Official Parliamentary Delegation) (The Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum) 2002, August Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Uetake 2002, August Official Delegation of the House of Representatives members 2004, November Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 2006, March House of Representatives member Hideo Nakagawa (Special Envoy) 2008, June House of Representatives members Motohiko Kondo, Tadamasa Kodaira and Daishiro Yamagiwa,
and House of Counsellors member Yousuke Tsuruho (60th IWC annual meeting) - Chile to Japan:
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Year Name 1983 Finance Minister Rolf Luders; President of the Central Bank of Chile Carlos Caceres 1985 Transportation Minister Luis Escobar; Finance Minister Hernan Buchi 1987 Economy Minister Andres Concha; Finance Minister Hernan Buchi 1988 Finance Minister Hernan Buchi 1989 External Relations Minister Hernan Felipe Errazuriz; Finance Minister Enrique Seguel; Economy Minister Pedro Larrondo 1990 External Relations Minister Enrique Silva-Cimma (imperial accession ceremonies); Economy Minister Carlos Ominami Pascual 1991 Mining Minister Juan Hamilton 1992 President Patricio Aylwin (official working visit, accompanied by External Relations Minister Enrique Silva-Cimma, Finance Minister Alejandro Foxley, and Agriculture Minister Juan Agustin Figueroa) 1993 External Relations Minister Enrique Silva-Cimma; Secretary General of the Presidency Edgardo Boeninger 1994, July Former President Patricio Aylwin 1994, November President Eduardo Frei 1995, November President Eduardo Frei 1996, March Ministry for Mining Benjamin Teplizky 1996, December President of the Senate Sergio Diez 1997, August, September President Eduardo Frei 1999, November External Relations Minister Juan Gabriel Valdés 2002, September President of the Senate Andrés Zaldivar 2002, November External Relations Minister Maria Soledad Alvear 2003, February President Ricardo Lagos 2003, September President of the House of Representatives Isabel Allende Bussi 2004, November President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Sergio Paez Verdugo 2005, April Minister of Finance Nicolas Eyzaguirre Guzman 2005, May Minister of Finance Nicolas Eyzaguirre Guzman; Minister of Agriculture Jaime Alfonso Campos Quiroga 2007, March Minister of Foreign Affairs Alejandro Foxley Rioseco 2007, September President Michelle Bachelet Jeria (official working visit, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alejardro Foxley Rioseco and the Minister of Economy Alejandro Ferreiro Yazigi) 2008, January President of the Senate Eduardo Frei
Cultural Grant (cumulative total fiscal 1975-2007)
975.3 million yen (Cultural Grant Aid)
Japan-Chile Relations Forum
(A forum for exchange of opinions in wide-ranging areas including politics, economy, culture, and science.
The fourth meeting was held in April 2009 in Santiago.)
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(1) Establishment : 2004 (2) Japanese members : five members Chilean members : eight members
Japan-Chile Parliamentary Friendship League
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(1) Establishment : 1984 (2) Chairman : Hidenao Nakagawa
Japan-Chile Economic Committee
- (Annual meetings are held in Japan and Chile alternately; the 26th meeting took place in April 2009 in Santiago.)
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(1) Establishment: 1978 (2) Japanese chairman Mikio Sasaki, Chairman of Mitsubishi Corp. Chilean chairman Roberto de Andraca, President of Pacific Steel Company (CAP)
- Overview of the Japan-Chile Foreign Ministers' Meeting (June 29, 2011)
- Japan-Chile Summit Meeting (Overview) (November 14, 2010)
- Japan-Chile Foreign Ministers' Meeting (November 11, 2010)
- Mining Accident in Chile (Rescue of Miners) (October 14, 2010)
- Joint Press Statement by the Foreign Ministers of Japan and the Republic of Chile (April 26, 2010)
- Visit to Japan by H.E. Mr. Alfredo MORENO Charme, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile (April 22, 2010)
- Visit to the Republic of Peru and the Republic of Chile by Mr. Shuji Kira, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs (March 8, 2010)
- Earthquake Disaster in the Republic of Chile (Dispatch of Japan International Disaster Relief Medical Team) (March 1, 2010)
- Statement by the Press Secretary/ Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Republic of Chile's Acceptance of the Invitation to Accede to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (January 13, 2010)
- Visit to Japan of Her Excellency Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria, President of the Republic of Chile (August 7, 2007)
- Joint Press Statement on the Occasion of the Summit Meeting between Japan and the Republic of Chile (September 3, 2007)
- Joint Statement on Enhanced Cooperation in Environment and Climate Change Issues between Japan and the Republic of Chile (September 3, 2007)
- Joint Statement on the Entry into Force of the Agreement between Japan and the Republic of Chile for a Strategic Economic Partnership (September 3, 2007)
- Visit to Japan of Dr. Alejandro Foxley, Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Chile (March 2007)
- Official Visit by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Republic of Chile (November 2004)
- Visit to Japan of His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of the Republic of Chile (February 2003)
- Japan-Republic of Chile Foreign Ministers' Joint Press Release on the Occasion of the Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Relations María Soledad Alvear Valenzuela of the Republic of Chile (November 2002)
- Meeting between Prime Minister Koizumi and President Lagos of the Republic of Chile (Summary) (October 2002)
- INFORME COMITÉ SIGLO XXI PARA LA CUENCA DEL PACÍFICO ENTRE JAPÓN Y AMÉRICA LATINA CAPÍTULO CHILENO (January 2001) (Spanish)
- Discussion between Prime Minister Mori and the leaders and other envoys of seven Latin American countries (Summary and Evaluation) (June 2000)
- Statement by the Press Secretary on the Ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the Republic of Chile (April 2000)
- Signing of the Framework Document for the Japan-Chile Partnership Programme (July 1999)
- Chilean Foreign Minister's Visit to Japan Canceled (April 20, 1999)
- Visit to Japan by Mr. José Miguel Insulza, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chile (April 1999)
(Open a New Window)Press Secretary's Press Conference on Chile
| Year | Month | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | October | 27 |
| March | 7 | |
| 2005 | November | 11 |
| July | 15 | |
| April | 19 | |
| 2003 | January | 10, 24 |
| 2002 | November | 8 |
| 1999 | April | 16 |
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