TREATY OF AMITY, COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION

　His majesty the Emperor of Japan and His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic, being equally animated by a desire to establish upon a firm and lasting foundation relations of friendship and commerce between their respective States and subjects and citizens, have resolved to conclude a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, and have for that purpose named their respective Plenipotentiaries, that is to say:
  His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, Justin TORU HOSH1 of the Third Order of the Rising Sun, His Envoy Extra- ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary near the Government of the United States of America; and His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic, Senor Don MARTIN GARCIA MEROU, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni potentiary of the Argentine Republic near the Government of the United States of America; who having communicated to each other their respective Full Powers, and found them in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles:

ARTICLE 1. 
　There shall be firm and perpetual peace and amity between the Empire of Japan and the Argentine Republic, and their respective subjects and citizens.

ARTICLE 2. 
　His Majesty the Emperor of Japan may, if he think proper, accredit a Diplomatic Agent to the Government of the Argentine Republic; and, in like manner, His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic may, if he see fit, accredit a Diplomatic Agent to the Court of Tokio; and each of the High Contracting Parties shall have the right to appoint Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls and Consular Agents, for the convenience of trade, to reside in all the ports and places within the territories of the other Contracting Party where similar Consular officers of other nations are permitted to reside; but before any Consul- General, Consul, Vice-Consul or Consular Agent shall act as such he shall, in the usual form, be approved and admitted by the Government to which he is sent.

　The Diplomatic and Consular officers of each of the two High Contracting Parties shall, subject to the stipulations of this Treaty, enjoy in the territories of the other whatever rights, privileges, exemptions and immunities, are or shall be granted there to officers of corresponding rank of any European nation or of the United States of America.

ARTICLE 3. 
　There shall be between the Territories and Possessions of the two High Contracting Parties reciprocal freedom of commerce and navigation. The subjects and citizens, respectively, of each of the High Contracting Parties shall have the right to come freely and securely with their ships and cargoes to all places, ports, rivers and straits in the Territories and Possessions of the other, where subjects or citizens of other nations are permitted so to come; they may remain and reside at all the places or ports where subjects or citizens of other nations are permitted to remain and reside, and they may there hire and occupy houses and ware houses, and may there trade by wholesale or retail in all kinds of products, manufactures and merchandise of lawful commerce. 

ARTICLE 4. 
　The two High Contracting Parties hereby agree that any favor, privilege or immunity whatever in matters relating to commerce, navigation, travel through or residence in their Territories or Possessions which either Contracting Party has actually granted, or may hereafter grant to the subjects or citizens of any European nation or of the United States of America, shall be extended to the subjects or citizens of the other Contracting Party, gratuitously, if the concession in favor of that European nation or the United States of America shall have been gratuitous, and on the same, or equivalent condition, if the concession shall have been conditional.

ARTICLE 5.
　No other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into Japan of any article, the growth, produce or manufacture of the Argentine Republic, and no other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into the Argentine Republic of any article, the growth, produce or manufacture of Japan, whether such importation be for the purpose of consumption, warehousing, re-exportation or transit, than are or shall be payable on the importation for the same purpose of the like article being the growth, produce or manufacture of any European country or of the United States of America. 

　Nor shall any other or higher duties or charges be imposed in the Territories or Possessions of either of the two High Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article to the Territories or Possessions of the other than such as  are or may be payable on the exportation of the like article to any European country or the United States of America No prohibition shall be imposed on the importation or transit of any article, the growth, produce or manufacture of the Territories of either of the High Contracting Parties into or through the Territories or Possessions of the other, which shall not equally extend to the like article being the growth produce or manufacture of any European country or of the United States of America. Nor shall any prohibition be imposed on the exportation of any article from the Territories of either of the High Contracting Parties to the Territories or Possessions of the other, which shall not equally extend to the exportation of the like article to the territories of　all European nations or of the United States of America

ARTICLE 6. 
　In all that relates to transit, warehousing, bounties, facilities, drawbacks, re-exports and transit duties, the subjects, citizens, merchandise and shipping of each of the High Contracting Parties, shall, in the Territories and Possessions of the other, be placed in all respects upon the same footing as the subjects, citizens, merchandise and shipping of European nations or of the United States of America.

ARTICLE 7. 
　No other or higher duties or charges on account of tonnage, light or harbor dues, pilotage, quarantine, salvage in case of damage, or any other similar or corresponding duties or charges of whatever nature or under whatever denomination levied in the name or for the profit of Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations or establishments, shall be imposed in any of the ports, rivers or straits of Japan on vessels of the Argentine Republic, or in any of the ports, rivers or straits of the Argentine Republic on vessels of Japan, than are or may hereafter be payable in like cases in the same ports, rivers and straits on vessels of European nations or of the United States of America.

ARTICLE 8. 
　The coasting trade of both the High Contracting Parties is excepted from the provisions of the present Treaty, and shall be regulated according to the laws of Japan and the Argentine Republic respectively.

ARTICLE 9. 
　All vessels which, according to Japanese laws and ordinances, are to be deemed Japanese vessels, and all vessels which, according to Argentine laws and regulations, are to be deemed Argentine vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be deemed Japanese and Argentine vessels, respectively.

ARTICLE 10. 
　His Imperial Majesty's subjects and Japanese merchant vessels resorting to the Argentine Republic or to the territorial waters thereof shall, so long as they there remain, be subject to the laws and jurisdiction of the Argentine Republic; and, in the same manner, citizens of the Argentine Republic as well as Argentine merchant vessels resorting to Japan or to the territorial waters thereof shall be subject to the laws of Japan and to the jurisdiction of His Imperial Majesty's Courts. It is understood, however, that the provisions of this Article do not extend to matters relating exclusively to the internal discipline of the merchant vessels of either Contracting Party in the ports or territorial waters of the other.

ARTICLE 11. 
　The subjects and citizens of each of the High Contracting Parties shall, in the Territories and Possessions of the other, reciprocally receive and enjoy the same full and perfect protection for their persons and property that is granted to native subjects or citizens, and they shall have free and open access to the Courts of Justice in said Countries, respectively, for the prosecution and defense of their just rights; and they shall, equally with native subjects or citizens, be at liberty to employ advocates, attorneys or agents to represent them before such Courts of Justice.

　They shall also enjoy entire liberty of conscience, and, subject to the laws for the time being in force, shall enjoy the right of private or public exercise of their worship, and also the right of burying their respective countrymen according to their religious customs in such suitable and convenient places as may be established and maintained for the purpose subject to the regulations in force.

ARTICLE 12. 
　In regard to billeting; forced or compulsory military service, whether by land or sea; contributions of war; military exactions or forced loans, the subjects and citizens of each of the two High Contracting Parties, shall, in the Territories and Possessions of the other, enjoy the same privileges, immunities and exemptions as may now or may hereafter be granted to the subjects or citizens of European nations or of the United States of America.

ARTICLE 13. 
　The present Treaty shall go into operation immediately after the exchange of ratifications, and  shall continue in force until the expiration of six (6) months after either of the High Contracting Parties shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the same, and no longer.

ARTICLE 14. 
　The present Treaty shall be signed in duplicate in the Japanese, Spanish and English languages, and in case there should be found any discrepancy between the Japanese and Spanish texts, it will be decided in conformity with the English text, which is binding upon both Governments.

ARTICLE 15. 
　The present Treaty shall be ratified by the two High Contracting Parties and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington as soon as possible.

　In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty and hereunto affixed their respective sea1s.

　Done in sextuplicate at Washington, this third day of the second month of the thirty-first year of Meiji, corresponding to the third day of February of the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety eight.

　(L.S.) Toru Hoshi:

　(L.S.)  M. Garcia Merou: