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June 2012

Basic Data

Diplomatic relations:
Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation concluded in 1888 (Japan's first "equal" treaty with a foreign country).
Treaties and agreements:
1954, cultural agreement;
1969, trade agreement;
1972, aviation agreement, understanding on mutual visa exemption;
1978, tourism agreement;
1986, technical cooperation agreement;
1993, understanding on dispatch of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
1996, convention for the avoidance of double taxation
Japanese and ethnic Japanese:
Number of Japanese residing in Mexico: approx. 4,100 (October 1999 survey).
Population of Japanese descent: approx. 15,650 (October 1999 survey).
Trade with Japan (1998):
Exports: $1,229 million (crude oil, nonferrous metals, salt, copper, silver, cotton, vegetables)
Imports: $4,209 million (general machinery, electrical machinery, steel, automobile parts).
Japanese companies in Mexico:
305 (December 1997 survey).
Direct investment from Japan:
Cumulative total of 362 investments, 597 million yen, from 1951 to 98; According to a survey by the Mexican Government, from 94 to 98, Japanese cumulative investments marked a total of $1,353 million with a share of 3.7% of total foreign investments.

Historical Sketch

Japan and Mexico have a tradition of friendly relations; the contacts between them date back to 1609.
Year History
1609 Governor General of the Philippines Rodrigo de Vivero is shipwrecked off the coast of Onjuku, has an audience with Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
1610 The governor general and his party set off for Acapulco in a 120-ton ship provided by the shogunate.
1614 Hasekura Tsunenaga and his party travel through Mexico (arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz) on their way to an audience with the pope in Rome.
1619 Hasekura Tsunenaga and his party return from Rome to Mexico, departing from Acapulco and returning to Japan via Manila.
1821 Mexico becomes independent of Spain.
1888 Conclusion of Japan-Mexico Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation (Japan's first "equal" treaty with a Western country).
1897 The 35 members of the so-called Enomoto Colonization Party settle in the Mexican state of Chiapas, marking the first organized emigration from Japan to Latin America.
1952 Mexico becomes the second country to ratify the San Francisco Peace Treaty (preceded only by the United Kingdom).

Japan's Economic Cooperation

Cultural Grant (cumulative total fiscal 1975-2004)

1,407.5 million yen (Cultural Grant Aid)
231.9 million yen (Grant Aid for Cultural Heritage)
4.6 million yen (Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects)

Cultural and Other Relations

(1) Japan-Mexico Trainee and Student Exchange Program:
Concept proposed by President Echeverría commenced in 1971. Initially provided for the annual acceptance of 100 trainees by each country from the other, with costs borne by the host country, for a year's exchange. Now provides for the acceptance of 50 trainees by each.
(2) Japan-Mexico Lyceum:
Opened in 1977. A unique international school in which children from Japan and Mexico are educated in accordance with their respective countries' curriculums. Concept took concrete shape when Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited Mexico in 1974.
(3) Japan-Mexico Friendship Fund (Ohira Fund):
Established in 1981. Uses interest earned by the Fund to provide financial support for Japan-Mexico cultural exchange activities. Capital provided by a donation of $1 million from the Japanese Government and a contribution of 82 million yen from Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations).
(4) New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century:
The New Commission has been inaugurated in 1999, and is expected to present a set of recommendations to enhance the bilateral relations to the heads of governments of both countries in 2000.

Visits by Eminent Persons:

Mexico to Japan:
Year Name
1990: Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Jaime Serra Puche,
President and Mrs. Carlos Salinas de Gortari
1991: Minister of Health Jesús Kumate,
Minister of Finance Pedro Aspe,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Solana,
Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Jaime Serra Puche
1992: Minister of Fishery Guillermo Jimúnez
1993: Mayor of Mexico City Manuel Camacho,
Minister of Transport and Communication Emilio Gamboa,
President of the House of Representatives María de los Angeles Moreno,
Minister of Tourism Pedro Joaquín Coldwell,
President Carlos Salinas de Gortari
1994: Mrs. Salinas de Gortari, wife of the President
1995: Minister of Foreign Affairs Josú Angel Gurría
Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Herminio Blanco,
President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
1996: Minister of Foreign Affairs José Angel Gurría
Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Herminio Blanco,
Minister of Finance Guillermo Ortiz.
1997: President and Mrs. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
1998: Minister of Education Miguel Limón
Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Herminio Blanco
President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
1999: Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Herminio Blanco
2000: Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosario Green
2001: President Vicente Fox Quesada
2003: President Vicente Fox Quesada
Japan to Mexico:
Year Name
1989: Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu
1990: Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama,
Economic Planning Agency Director General Hideyuki Aizawa
1992: Crown Prince Naruhito, Finance Minister Tsutomu Hata
1993: Foreign Minister Kabun Muto
1994: Special envoy Soichiro Ito
1995: Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
1996: President of the House of Councillors Juro Saito
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
1997: Prince and Princess Akishino
(Centenary of Japanese immigration to Mexico)
1998: Minister of Education Nobutaka Machimura
2002: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
2003: Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi
2004: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
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