Japan-Belgium Relations
Japan-Belgium Relations (Basic Data)
July 31, 2026
Basic Data
Diplomatic Relations:
- Established in 1866 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation.
Japanese Nationals in Belgium:
- Number of Japanese nationals residing in Belgium: 5,592 (Oct. 2025, Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas)
Belgian Nationals in Japan:
- Number of Belgian nationals residing in Japan: 2,505 (Dec. 2025, Immigration Services Agency of Japan)
Trade with Japan:
- Exports from Japan (2024): 883 billion yen
- Imports to Japan (2024): 508 billion yen
VIP Visits
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1990 | His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince Prime Minister KAIFU Toshiki with his wife Foreign Minister NAKAYAMA Taro |
| 1991 | Prime Minister KAIFU Toshiki International Trade and Insustry Minister NAKAO Eiichi Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister KONDO Motoji |
| 1993 | Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress (twice) |
| 1994 | Prime Minister HATA Tsutomu |
| 1996 | Foreign Minister IKEDA Yukihiko |
| 1997 | Foreign Minister IKEDA Yukihiko |
| 1999 | Former Prime Minister HASHIMOTO Ryutaro His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Crown Princess |
| 2000 | Foreign Minister KONO Yohei International Trade and Industry Minister FUKAYA Takashi Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister TAMAZAWA Tokuichiro |
| 2001 | Prime Minister KOIZUMI Junichiro |
| 2002 | Foreign Minister KAWAGUCHI Yoriko |
| 2005 | Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs ONODERA Itsunori Foreign Minister MACHIMURA Nobutaka Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs ITO Shintaro |
| 2006 | Foreign Minister ASO Taro Minister of State for Special Missions CHUMA Koki Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs IWAYA Takeshi |
| 2007 | Prime Minister ABE Shinzo Defense Minister KYUMA Fumio |
| 2008 | Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs NISHIMURA Yasutoshi |
| 2009 | Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs NISHIMURA Yasutoshi |
| 2010 | Prime Minister KAN Naoto |
| 2011 | State Minister in charge of Financial and Postal Issues JIMI Shozaburo Foreign Minister MATSUMOTO Takeaki Prime Minister KAN Naoto |
| 2013 | State Minister for Foreign Affairs MATSUYAMA Masaji |
| 2014 | Prime Minister ABE Shinzo Her Majesty the Empress |
| 2015 | Foreign Minister KISHIDA Fumio |
| 2016 | State Minister of Foreign Affairs MUTO Yoji Prime Minister ABE Shinzo |
| 2017 | Prime Minister ABE Shinzo |
| 2018 | Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology HAYASHI Yoshimasa |
| 2022 | Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio (G7 summit meeting) Minister for Foreign Affairs HAYASHI Yoshimasa (NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting) |
| 2023 | Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro Minister for Foreign Affairs HAYASHI Yoshimasa (NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting) Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry NISHIMURA Yasutoshi Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs TAKAGI Kei Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio (Summit meeting, Japan-EU Summit) State Minister for Foreign Affairs TSUJI Kiyoto |
| 2024 | Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro State Minister for Foreign Affairs TSUGE Yoshifumi Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs KOMURA Masahiro State Minister for Foreign Affairs TSUJI Kiyoto (NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting) Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications MATSUMOTO Takeaki Minister of Defense NAKATANI Gen (NATO Defense Miniters’ Meeting) |
| 2025 | Minister of State for Economic Security KIUCHI Minoru Minister for Foreign Affairs IWAYA Takeshi (Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting) Minister of the Environment ASAO Keiichiro Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs ERI Arfiya (First Ministerial Meeting of the Palestine Donor Group and 4th EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum) |
| 2026 | State Minister for Foreign Affairs HORII Iwao (Japan-EU Business Round Table and Japan-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue) Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry AKAZAWA Ryosei (Japan-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue) Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications HAYASHI Yoshimasa (President of the respective bilateral Parliamentary Friendship Groups between Japan and Belgium) (European Union - Japan Digital Partnership Council) Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry OCHI Toshiyuki (European Union - Japan Digital Partnership Council) State Minister of the Environment TSUJI Kiyoto State Minister of the Environment AOYAMA Shigeharu Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress Minister of Defense KOIZUMI Shinjiro |
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Their Majesties King Baudouin and the Queen Fabiola Deputy Prime Minister Dehaene |
| 1991 | Deputy Prime Minister Claes |
| 1992 | Their Majesties King Baudouin and the Queen Fabiola Foreign Minister Claes |
| 1993 | His Royal Highness Prince Albert Prime Minister Dehaene |
| 1994 | His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe |
| 1996 | Their Majesties King Albert and Queen Paola Foreign Minister Derycke |
| 1997 | His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe |
| 1998 | Deputy Prime Minister Di Rupo |
| 1999 | His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe |
| 2000 | Their Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde |
| 2001 | Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt |
| 2002 | Finance Minister Didier Reynders Their Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde Minister, attached to the Foreign Minister Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck |
| 2003 | His Royal Highness Prince Laurent Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt |
| 2005 | His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt Finance Minister Didier Reynders |
| 2006 | Chief of Defence August Van daele |
| 2008 | Economy and Administrative Simplification Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne |
| 2010 | Prime Minister Yves Leterme Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere |
| 2011 | Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Kris Peeters |
| 2012 | Their Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders Minister-President of the Walloon Region Rudy Demotte Finance Minister Steven Vanackere |
| 2013 | Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid |
| 2014 | Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Laura |
| 2015 | Prime Minister Charles Michel, Vice-Prime Minister and Employment Economy and Consumers Minister Kris Peeters State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region for Foreign Trade Cécile Jodogne |
| 2016 | Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Vervoort Minister-President of the Flanders Bourgeois Minister-President of the French Community Demotte Minister-President of the Walloon Region Magnette State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region for Foreign Trade Cécile Jodogne |
| 2017 | President of the Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke |
| 2018 | Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders |
| 2019 | Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde |
| 2022 | President of the Senate Stephanie D'Hose (the state funeral for former Prime Minister ABE) Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions Hadja LAHBIB, State Secretary for Digitization Mathieu Michel Minister-President of The Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy Culture, Digitalisation and Facilities, Jan Jambon State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region Pascal Smet |
| 2025 | Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid and His Royal Highness Prince Lorenz Minister-president of Wallonia David DOLIMONT Minister-president of the French Community of Belgium Élisabeth DEGRYSE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Agriculture David CLARINVAL Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation Maxime PRÉVO Minister of Public Action and Modernization, in charge of Public Enterprises, the Civil Service, State Real Estate Management, Digital and Scientific Policy Vanessa MATZ |