Belgian-Japanese relations

Belgian-Japanese relations

Belgium	Japan

The relations between Japan and Belgium developed only after forced by the imperialist powers opening of Japan slowly. Belgium did not gain statehood until 1830. If contacts existed beforehand, these are to be regarded as part of the Japanese-Dutch relationship .

Until 1866

As part of the Jesuit missionary work , priests from the Spanish Netherlands (or the seventeen provinces ) came to Japan in the 16th century , such as the martyr Theodore Mantels (1560–1593) and the blessed Ludovicus Frarijn (1623–88, = Luis Flores ). During the closure of the country from 1639 (sakoku) came "Belgians" resp. their products through the activities of the East India Company (VOC) to Dejima in the port of Nagasaki . Flemish tapestries from this period are still shown every year at the Gion-Matsuri in Kyoto .

Belgian trading houses began to expand overseas soon after independence. In 1845 some ports in China were opened. In 1847 Etienne Mouttet was the first to draw the Belgian government's attention to the potential of relations with Japan with his proposal to send a military expedition to Japan.

A mission from the daimyo of Satsuma toured Europe in 1865. On the mediation of Count Montblanc (1833-94) they visited Belgium and bought cannons and ammunition from the Fonderie Royale in Liège .

Since 1858, trade agreements between Japan and western imperialist powers, the so-called Ansei Treaties , had been enforced . In 1854 and 1858 attempts by the Belgian consuls in Canton respectively failed . Singapore negotiate contracts similar to Kanazawa's . The Japanese missions to Europe, under 1862 Takeshita Yasutoku , under 1864 Ikeda Nagaoki ( Shimotsuke -no-kami; † 1864/7/18) and in 1864 the Shibata mission did not visit Belgium. However, Ikeda had contact with Charles de Montblanc.

In 1866 Belgium became the ninth nation to conclude such an agreement with Bakufu (Aug. 1), with diplomatic support from the Netherlands. In addition to the most-favored nation status, a tariff of 5% and access to the ports of Hakodate , Nagasaki and Yokohama were achieved . Crown Prince Leopold in particular , who later established what was probably the cruelest colonial regime in his "private property" Congo , was an advocate of expansion to the east. After the ratification of the treaty, diplomatic representation was taken over by the Consul General in China, Baron Auguste t'Kint de Roodenbeek , who also became the first envoy from 1873 to 1884, until his death in Yokohama.

1866-1918

The Kingdom of Ryūkyū officially took part as a separate country at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 ; In fact, the daimyo was represented here by Satsuma , who was nominally suzeran over Ryūkyū. As the first real official representative of Bakufu , the 15-year-old Tokugawa Akitake , a younger brother of the shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu , visited Belgium with a delegation from September 24th to October 9th, 1867.

The Tokugawa Akitake delegation on their visit to Belgium

Soon after the Meiji Restoration , Japanese students were also sent to Belgium. However, their number remained small (19 to 1895). The Iwakura Mission , to which Kume Kunitake ( 久 米 邦 武 ) also belonged, visited Belgium from May 17–24. February 1873. In 1873, on behalf of the government, Yamazaki Naotane and Katō Susumu examined aspects of the legal and financial system of Belgium. In return, between 10 and 16 Belgians, mostly employees of trading houses, stayed in Japan from 1876 to 1886. That number rose to 26 by 1889, including three women and five children. Belgium was represented by Baron Albert d'Anethan for a long time , namely 17 years (1893–1910). Japan opened its first independent embassy in Brussels in December 1898.

During the Meiji period , Japan imported mostly metallic and chemical raw and finished products, printing papers and - most importantly - flat glass, Belgium porcelain and "curios" from Belgium. Habutae (a type of silk) and whale oil were added later . The trade balance for Belgium was very positive until the Russo-Japanese War , after which it was still favorable until 1940. However, the share of trade in the total Japanese volume never reached 3%, mostly it was below 1%.

Significantly more important than the economic relations at the end of the 19th century. were the influences in the cultural field. Japonisme had a great influence on the development of the later Art Nouveau , especially after the exhibition of Japanese art in Brussels in February 1889. The organ was the magazine Le Japon Artistique published by S. Bing . The writers Max Elskamp and Jules Destrée were among the most important Belgian representatives . Painters of this style were u. a. Alfred Stevens and Theodore Hannon . The medical professor Hans de Winiwarter (1875–1949) developed into the most important art collector .

The "Japanese Tower" at night

In the education sector were at Hitotsubashi Gaigo (founded 1875), Belgian curricula and methods introduced by Prof. Edouard-Joseph Blockhuys (1862-1931), Arthur Maréchal and JJM van Stappen (1852-1915) predominant. The " Japanese Tower " originally shown at the 1900 World Exhibition was built next to Laken Castle .

After the Iwakura mission from 1871 to 1873 failed to have the unequal treaties repealed, Japanese diplomacy succeeded in renouncing the privileges of the most important powers in 1894, but in 1896 negotiations on a treaty revision with Belgium failed because there was no agreement the tariff for flat glass could be achieved. Only in a provisional agreement on July 8, 1911 did Belgium also renounce its privileges. Due to the war, this contract was repeatedly extended until it was replaced in June 1924 by a trade agreement with a most-favored nation clause.

During the First World War, Japan and Belgium were war allies against Germany. Japan's support for Belgium was limited to the field of propaganda, which sparked new interest in the small nation in Japan.

1918-1941

The opportunity of Crown Prince Hirohito's visit to Brussels in June 1921 was used at the diplomatic level to upgrade the status of the previous legations to embassies. Japan was represented by Adachi Mineichirō (until 1928) since 1915 . A Belgian industrial commission (Mission Industrielle Belge au Japon) visited Japan in 1923. The pro-Japanese ambassador Albert Bassompierre represented Belgium for 18 years until October 1936. The Société Belgo-Japonaise under Baron Constant Goffinet organized a collection of over 2.6 million. Francs donated money for the victims of the Kantō earthquake . The poet Kaneko Mitsuharu and the painter Kojima Torajirō stayed in Belgium during the interwar period.

Trade between the two countries began to boom in 1930, although the trade balance, which was favorable for Belgium, hardly changed. Belgian capitalists showed great interest in the exploitation of Manchukuos , with regard to which the Belgian government pursued an appeasement policy. A long-planned visit as part of Crown Prince Leopold's trip to Asia was canceled in 1932 due to the prevailing political situation in Japan.

Japan recognized the Belgian government in exile in London in 1940 . After the outbreak of the Pacific War , the latter sided with the USA on December 10, 1941 and decided to break off diplomatic relations, which was carried out on the 19th. On the same day in London it was decided to declare war on Japan. This declaration was delivered in Tokyo on January 27, 1942. The Belgian embassy building in Tokyo was completely destroyed by American bombing in August 1942, for which the Japanese government paid ¥ 78 million in damages in 1955. The holiday home on Lake Chūzenji remained undamaged.

Since 1945

After the surrender, the former consul in Yokohama was accredited to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) of Baron Guy Daufresne de la Chevalerie as Belgian general representative until 1952.

economy

First economic relations should be restored on the basis of the Beltrade Memorandum of May 8, 1947, which provided for trade controlled by SCAP over the Bōekichō . However, until all bureaucratic modalities had been clarified, private trade was permitted again from April 1, 1948. A first trade agreement was signed on July 9, 1949 and replaced by a second on August 29, 1950, which again allowed Japanese ships to visit Belgian ports. The dollar was intended as the trading currency, which was replaced by the Belgian franc soon after the San Francisco peace treaty was signed. After Japan joined GATT (1955) and the UN (1956), relations were increasingly regulated in an international framework, including BLEU . The Belgian post-war trade balance is consistently negative. This was also the main reason for making Japanese imports subject to authorization again from 1960 onwards. As part of a state visit by Crown Prince Albert in May 1962, negotiations began again on the most-favored nation treatment for the Japanese side, which came into force on October 21, 1964 after further negotiations and increased exports to the Benelux countries by around 70% 1968 caused. The main export goods were cut diamonds from Belgium, which were overtaken in volume by chemical products from around 1990, and cars from Japan. Honda was the first Japanese company in Europe to set up a motorcycle factory in Aalst back in 1962 . The Baeckert company has been producing steel wire for tires in Utsonumiya since 1968. From 1989 more and more Japanese companies started to set up their European distribution centers in Belgium. In 2004, Belgian exports stood at around 180 billion yen , Japanese exports of around 665 billion.

Starting after 1980, economic issues are nowadays regulated within the framework of the EU , at whose headquarters in Brussels Japanese companies prefer to set up their administrative headquarters in order to be able to carry out lobbying measures if necessary. Individual national agreements still exist in the form of social security and taxation agreements.

Politics and culture

The political and cultural exchange lagged behind the rapid economic development. First there was mutual participation in world exhibitions (Brussels 1958 known for the Atomium , Osaka 1970 ). In 1969 the Association Belgo-Japonaise was established under the patronage of His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa . During their first trip to Europe after the war, in 1971, the imperial couple visited Belgium for several days, and King Baudouin made a return visit in 1985. He also took part in the funeral of the Shōwa-Tennō in January 1989 and the enthronement of the current Tennō the following year. The political exchange was otherwise mostly limited to economic issues.

Flemish culture is made known through the Osaka Palestrina Institute , founded by Prof. Robert Viegen in 1965 , which is now known as the “Flemish Cultural Institute”. In 1974, a Japanese school was opened in Brussels, supported by the Nihonjinkai . Since 1991 there has also been a society of former Japanese students in Belgium with a few hundred members. For the past ten years the number of Japanese living in Belgium has remained constant at around 6,000. The first international football match in a tournament took place during the 2002 World Cup at Saitama Stadium. In the Antarctic, where the two countries had set up different research stations since 1958, there was close cooperation, especially during the JARE expeditions from 1986 onwards.

In lion has been at the Catholic University studying Oriental languages a long tradition of Japanese studies, however, were not introduced until 1928, when Baron Satsuma Jihei a chair was sponsored, whose first owner until 1956 Pierre Charles , SJ (* 1883) was. After 1963, the study program was expanded under the Buddhologist Hubert Durt , who later acted as an editor of the Hōbōgirin , and A. van Clampenhout (until 1978). The Satsuma chair was divided into two professorships as early as 1955, and Japanese studies , with 10 employees today, has only existed as a completely independent subject since 1986. Various other universities and institutes had the Japanese language as a subject at times. The missionaries of the (CICM) were particularly active after 1950.

literature

• Albert Bassompierre: Dix-huit ans d'Ambassade au Japon . Brussels 1943
• Anethan, Albert d, Baroness, 1860-1935; Fourteen years of diplomatic life in Japan; leaves from the diary ...; London 1912 ( full text )
• Isomi Tatsunori (Ed.); Jozef Jennes (ex.): La Belgique et le Japon: Aperçu historique . Brussels 1981 (Ambassade du Japon)
• Isomi Tatsunori ( 礒 見 辰 典 ) et al .: Nihon-Berugī kankei shi ( 日本 ・ ベ ル ギ ー 関係 史 ). Tokyo 1989
• Olivier Servais: La Belgique et l'affaire Mandchoukuo (1931-37) . 1994 (diploma thesis UCL)
• Sufu Kōhei ( 周 布 公平 ): Berugikoku-shi ( 白 耳 義 國 志 ). Tokyo 1877
• Truong Buu Lam: Les débuts des relations entre la Belgique et la Japon . 1957 (dissertation UCL)
• WF Vanden Walle, David de Cooman (Eds.): Japan & Belgium: Four Centuries of Exchange . Brusseles / Aichi 2005, ISBN 2-9600491-0-1

Web links

Commons : Belgian-Japanese relations  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Nihonjikai Brussels
• Belgium-Japan Association

Individual evidence

1. ^ W. F Vanden Walle, David de Cooman (Eds.): Japan & Belgium: Four Centuries of Exchange . Aichi 2005, ISBN 2-9600491-0-1 , pp. 18ff
2. ↑ Charles Descantons de Mont Blanc: Le Japon
3. ↑ cf. W. F Vanden Walle: Count de Montblanc and the 1865 Satsuma Mission to Europe . in: Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica, Vol. 27 (1996), pp. 151-76
4. ↑ Shibata Takenaka ( 柴 田 剛 中 , 1823–1877)
5. ↑ cf. Adam Hochschild : Shadows over the Congo . Stuttgart 2000 (Original title: King Leopold's Ghost 1998), ISBN 3-608-91973-2
6. ↑ Report in: Kume Kunitake: Bei-Ō Kairan Jikki . Tokyo 1878; Engl .: Cobbing Andrew (trans.): Continental Europe 1 Vol. 3: The Iwakura Embassy 1871–73: A true account of the Ambassdor Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary's Journey of Observation… Richmond 2002
7. ↑ see: George Alexander Lensen: The d'Anethan dispatches from Japan, 1894-1910. The observations of Baron Albert d'Anethan, Belgian Minister Plenipotentiary and dean of the diplomatic corps . Tokyo 1967
8. ↑ Japan & Belgium , p. 165
9. ↑ ^{a b} detailed statistics in: Japan & Belgium , pp. 112–115
10. ↑ cf. M. Dumoulin: C'était au temps où Bruxelles japonisait… . in: La revue nouvelle Oct. 1989, pp. 75-86
11. ↑ cf. Yoko Takagi: Japonisme in Fin de Siècle Art in Belgium . Antwerp 2002
12. ↑ 5 fr. = 0.58g gold
13. ↑ Japan & Belgium , p. 270
14. ↑ cf. T. Grosbois: Les relations diplomatiques entre le governement belge de Londres et les États-Unites 1940-44 . in: Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporaines 202/203 (2001), pp. 167-87.
15. ^ Flemish center Osaka | Vlaams Centrum Osaka | Nagedachtenis Robert Viegen ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ↑ cf. Osaka Palestrina Institute; Osaka, 1970
17. ↑ Japan & Belgium , pp. 318-31
18. ↑ JARE ( Memento of the original dated August 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ↑ Japan & Belgium , pp. 353-62