Japan-Mexico Relations 
November 2011
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
- Japan-Mexico Joint Study Group on the Strengthening of Bilateral Economic Relations (July 2002) [PDF]
- List of Exchange of Notes
- (1) Loans: 214.3 billion yen
- (2) Grants: 4.8 billion yen
- (3) Technical cooperation: 47.5 billion yen
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 Gortari1991: Minister of Health Jesús Kumate,
Minister of Finance Pedro Aspe,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Solana,
Minister of Trade and Industrial Development Jaime Serra Puche1992: 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 Gortari1994: 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 León1996: 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 León1999: 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 Aizawa1992: 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 Hashimoto1997: 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
- Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
- Signing of the Protocol Amending the Agreement between Japan and the United Mexican States for the Strengthening of the Economic Partnership (September 23, 2011)
- Agreement in principle on the re-consultation of the Japan-Mexico EPA (February 22, 2011)
- Japan-Mexico Foreign Ministers' Meeting (November 24, 2011)
- Meeting between Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dip. Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico (June 2011)
- Japan-Mexico Foreign Ministerial Telephone Conference (June 2011)
- Japan-Mexico Bilateral Meeting (October 2010)
- Meeting between Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (July 2010)
- Comunicado Conjunto México-Japón para la Asociación Estratégica Global y el Crecimiento Económico en el siglo XXI (February 1, 2010) [Spanish (PDF)]
- Visit to Japan of His Excellency Mr. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States and Mrs. Margarita Zavala Gómez del Campo (January 2010)
- His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito and H.E. Mr. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States, to Assume the Honorary Presidency of the 400th Anniversary of Exchange between Japan and Mexico (July 2009)
- Revision of Infections Disease Risk Advisory Influenza A (H1N1) and Relaxation of Visa Measures for the United Mexican States (May 2009)
- Emergency Assistance to the United Mexican States in Response to the Outbreak of the New Strain of Influenza (Provision of Infrared Thermographies) (May 2009)
- Emergency Assistance to the United Mexican States in Response to the New Strain of Influenza (May 2009)
- Telephone Conversation between Foreign Ministers of Japan and Ambassador to Japan from the United Mexican States Miguel Ruiz-Cabanas regarding the Launch of a Flying Object by North Korea (April 2009)
- Inaugural Meeting of the Executive Committee of the 400th Anniversary of Japan-Mexico Relations (2009-2010) (March 2009)
- Dispatch of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan on Climate Change (June 2008)
- Emergency Grant Aid to the United Mexican States for Major Floods and Landslides Disaster (November 2007)
- Emergency Aid to Mexico for Flood Disaster in Tabasco and Chiapas (November 2007)
- Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Visit Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Mexico and Brazil (August 2007)
- Mrs. Midori Matsushima, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Visit Jamaica, Cuba, and Mexico (April 2007)
- Mrs. Midori Matsushima, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Visit Nicaragua, Mexico and Panama (December 2006)
- Dispatch of an Ambassador on Special Mission to Attend the Inaugural Ceremony of the President of the United Mexican States (November 2006)
- The 2nd Japan-Mexico Cultural Summit (July 2006)
- Mr. Katsutoshi Kaneda, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Visit Mexico, Panama and the United States of America (April 2006)
- Visit by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Latin America (Overview, Evaluation and Specific Results) (September 2004)
- Japan-Mexico Summit Meeting (Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet Official Web Site) (September 2004)
- Joint Press Statement on the Agreement between Japan and the United Mexican States for the Strengthening of the Economic Partnership (March 2004)
- Japan-Mexico Joint Statement on the State Visit to Japan of President Vicente Fox Quesada of the United Mexican States (October 2003) [English] [Spanish (PDF)]
- Japan-Mexico Summit Meeting (Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet Official Web Site) (October 2003)
- THE JAPAN-MEXICO PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME (October 2003)
- Announcement by the Press Secretary on the Visit to Japan of His Excellency Mr. Vicente Fox Quesada, President of the United Mexican States, and Mrs. Fox (September 2003)
- Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Visit European Countries and Attend the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference (September 2003)
- The Third Round of Heads Level Negotiations for the Agreement between Japan and the United Mexican States for the Strengthening of the Bilateral Economic Partnership (May 2003)
- The Second Round of Heads Level Negotiations for the Agreement between Japan and the United Mexican States for the Strengthening of the Bilateral Economic Partnership (February 2003)
- Emergency Assistance for Earthquake Disaster in Mexico (January 2003)
- Japan-Mexico Summit Meeting (Overview and Evaluation) (October 2002)
- Statement by H.E. Mr. Shigeo Uetake, Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan at the International Conference on Financing for Development (March 2002)
- Visit to Japan by His Excellency Mr. Vicente Fox Quesada, President of the United Mexican States (June 2001)
- 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 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Mexico (July 2000)
- First Plenary Meeting of the New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century (July 1999)
- Japan-Mexico High-Level Economic Consultation (July 1999)
(Open a New Window)Press Secretary's Press Conference on Mexico
| Year | Month | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | July | 2 |
| 2006 | April | 4 |
| January | 20 | |
| 2005 | September | 2, 22, 27 |
| March | 4 | |
| 2004 | September | 7, 17 |
| February | 24 | |
| January | 23 | |
| 2003 | November | 28 |
| October | 10, 14 | |
| September | 30 | |
| 2002 | November | 15 |
| 2000 | April | 25 |
| 1999 | July | 6 |
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