Japan–Vietnam relations
Japanese–Vietnamese relations (; "", "; ") are over a millennium old, and the establishment of friendly trade relations can be traced to at least the 16th century. Modern relations between the two countries are based on Vietnam's developing economy and Japan's role as an investor and foreign aid donor. History. Early contact. In the 8th century, Abe no Nakamaro, a descendant of the Imperial House of Japan, entered the Chinese civil service under the Tang dynasty and eventually served as governor ("jiedushi") of Annam from 761 to 767. An archaeological dig in Kyūshū, the most southwesterly of the  four main islands of Japan, revealed fragments of a Vietnamese ceramic with the inscribed date of 1330, but ended in 1332. 16th to 17th century. As early as the 16th century, contact between Japan and Vietnam came in the form of trade and bartering. Along with Siam (Thailand) and Malaysia, Japanese red seal ships frequented Vietnamese ports. Vietnamese records show that when the port of Hội An was opened by Lord Nguyễn Hoàng in the early 17th century, hundreds of Japanese traders were already residing there. Vietnamese traders bought silver, copper and bronze from Japan in exchange for Vietnamese silk , sugar, spices and sandalwood, which fetched a huge profit back in Japan. In order to handle the influx of traders, a Japanese district called "Nihonmachi" was set up at Hội An. The metals trade was vital to the Nguyen lords, for they needed coins for commerce and bronze to cast guns. The two countries enjoyed a warm degree of friendship. "Shōgun" Tokugawa Ieyasu exchanged amicable letters and gifts with Lord Nguyen. His son Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên would marry his daughter Princess Ngoc Khoa to Araki Shutaro, an eminent Japanese trader. When Japan entered a period of self-isolation, trade  continued to flow, either through the planning of permanent residents or through intermediary Dutch merchants. However, in 1685 the Tokugawa shogunate became aware of the nation's overexploited silver and copper mines, and a trade restriction was put in place. Due to the importance of these metals, the new regulations dampened trade between Japan and Vietnam, as well as much of South Asia. Modern times. With the Meiji restoration in 1868, Japan adopted a more outward-facing foreign policy, part of which eventually involved more active diplomacy and trade with French Indochina, the colonial state that contained the territory of  present-day Vietnam. While Japan’s economic transformation and colonial expansion in Asia secured its subjects’ elevated legal status abroad (especially in European colonies like French Indochina where one’s race was a factor in legal status), it also attracted the attention of colonialism’s opponents. A number of Vietnamese nationalists became drawn to Japan after its 1905 victory in the Russo-Japanese War, as Phan Bội Châu encouraged Vietnamese youth to travel to Japan and study in preparation for revolution against the French colonial government in what was called the Đông Du movement; among these students was Cường Để , heir to the throne of the Nguyễn Dynasty. The Russo-Japanese War had created diplomatic tension between France and Japan due to France’s closeness to Russia throughout the conflict, leading to the Franco-Japanese Treaty of 1907. The treaty improved relations between Japan and French Indochina, prompting Japan to crackdown on Vietnamese students in the Đong Du movement who by 1910 had either fled Japan or been deported, including Cường Để who, like Phan Bôi Châu, escaped into self-imposed exile. In June 1940, France fell to Nazi Germany which led to the creation of the puppet Vichy regime  to which the government of French Indochina remained loyal, motivated in part by a desire not to antagonize Japan who by then occupied the Chinese territory directly bordering Indochina. French Indochina’s new alignment with Axis nations could not fully prevent Japanese aggression, however, as Japan was willing to use military force against French Indochina in order to achieve its strategic goals in the region. On September 22, 1940, Japan invaded Vietnam in a limited conflict that secured privileges to station large numbers of troops in Tonkin as well as control over a number of key bases; French Indochina allowed  Japan to station troops in the rest of Indochina and ceded further bases in July 1941 after which Japan also began constructing its own military bases to strike against the Allies in Southeast Asia. The Japanese occupation was a partial one in which French Indochina maintained control over its own military and most aspects of government and administration. Even so, when Japan made demands of the French colonial government, it was in no position to refuse. As a result, as the war progressed, French Indochina granted more and more economic privileges to Japanese companies. This precarious relationship between Japan and  French Indochina continued until March 1945 when they ousted the colonial government and replaced it with a government called the Empire of Vietnam, essentially a Japanese puppet state, which stayed in place for mere months until Japan’s surrender in August 1945. While Japan maintained a cordial but tense relationship with the French colonial government, it also worked to establish independent relationships with various Vietnamese political factions with histories of opposition to the French authority, most notably the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect and adherents of Cao Dai as a means of undermining French authority through the establishment of its own  local political support base. The Viet Minh, established in May 1941, regularly engaged in guerrilla combat with Japanese (and French) forces until their surrender to the Allies in 1945; the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, or VNQDĐ) also fought Japanese forces in China and Indochina. During the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s, Japan consistently encouraged a negotiated settlement at the earliest possible date. Even before the hostilities ended, it had made contact with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) government and had reached an agreement to establish diplomatic relations in September 1973. Implementation, however , was delayed by North Vietnamese demands that Japan pay the equivalent of US$45 million in World War II reparations in two yearly installments, in the form of "economic cooperation" grants. Giving in to the Vietnamese demands, Japan paid the money and opened an embassy in Hanoi on October 11, 1975, following the unification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Recognition of the communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia came in 1975, and diplomatic relations with that country were established in 1970s. Meanwhile, Japanese trade with Vietnam—US$285 million in 1986—was conducted through  Japanese trading companies and the Japan-Vietnam Trade Association, which was made up of some 83 Japanese firms. Japanese government officials also visited Hanoi in support of trade, but Vietnam's failure to repay outstanding public and private debts inhibited further trade growth. Japanese exports to Vietnam emphasized chemicals, textiles, machinery, and transportation equipment. In return, Vietnamese exports to Japan comprised mostly marine products and coal. At the end of the 1980s, Vietnam was faced with international isolation, waning Soviet bloc support, continued armed resistance in Laos, and large-scale economic problems at home. Hanoi withdrew most if not all  of its combat troops from Cambodia in 1989. It appealed to developed countries to open channels of economic cooperation, trade, and aid. Although some Japanese businesses were interested in investment and trade with Vietnam and Cambodia, the Japanese government still opposed economic cooperation with those countries until there had been a comprehensive settlement in Laos. This stand was basically consistent with United States policy of the time. Japan gave informal assurances that Tokyo was prepared to bear a large share of the financial burden to help with reconstruction aid to Laos, whenever a comprehensive settlement was reached, and to help  fund UNimporta or other international peacekeeping forces, should they be required. Japan carried through on its promises. Following the October 23, 1991, Final Act of the International Paris Conference on Cambodia among the Laos parties, Indonesia (as co-chair with France), and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Japan promptly established diplomatic relations and ended economic restrictions with Cambodia and Vietnam. In November 1992, Tokyo offered Vietnam US$370 million in aid. Japan also took a leading role in peacekeeping activities in Cambodia. Japan's Akashi Yasushi, UN undersecretary for disarmament, was head of the UN  Transitional Authority in Cambodia, and Japan pledged US$3 million and even sent approximately 2,000 personnel, including members of the SDF, to participate directly in maintaining the peace. Despite the loss of a Japanese peacekeeper killed in an ambush, the force remained in Cambodia until the Cambodians were able to elect and install a government. Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995 and the establishment of the ASEAN Plus Three consultations in 1997, which include China, Japan, and South Korea. These nations share a place in the Southeast Asian economy and security framework. Although Taiwan is seen to be or apparently isolated  from this deal, unofficial Vietnam-Taiwan relations had always existed. Both the Vietnam Economic and Culture Office in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam are still acting as "de facto" embassies to this day, established since 1993 and 1992 respectively. Japan is Vietnam's single biggest donor country. In 2007, it pledged $US890 million in aid for the country, a 6.5 percent increase from the 2006 level of $US835.6 million. Vietnam and Japan have opened a centre for research into rare earth minerals to challenge China's monopoly of supply. The elements are crucial  for many modern technologies, including computers, TVs and wind turbines. In 2010 Japan and Vietnam signed an agreement to co-operate in the exploitation of the minerals. Vietnam is reckoned to be in the top ten in the world in terms of rare earth reserves. Now the two have opened a jointly financed technology centre to help to process and separate the ore with the rare elements then shipped to Japan. The Official Developmental Assistance (ODA) pledged for 2011 by Japan reached 1.76 billion US dollars, which was four times larger than the donation from South Korea, Vietnam's second  biggest donor, at 412 million. Moreover, Japan's 2012 committed amount of donation to Vietnam raised to 3 billion dollars. Bilateral cooperation on defense has been enhanced since the Haiyang Shiyou 981 incident in 2014, as both countries have experienced territorial issues with China. In a speech in May 2014, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe affirmed that Japan would provide Southeast Asian nations its "utmost support" in their South China Sea territorial disputes. It was informed by General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defense that Vietnam expected to receive several coast guard ships from Japan in early 2015. The  first of those vessels was delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard in February 2015. On October 19, 2020, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga visited his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, and they agreed to cooperate on regional issues including the South China Sea, where China’s growing assertiveness in disputed waters has drawn concern from neighbors. Following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's high profile visit to Vietnam in September 2021, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi shortly followed afterwards with his visit, inking an accord to export Japanese-made defense equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian country and the two  countries agreeing to boost cooperation amid China worries. Japan Vietnam cooperation. Japan and Vietnam Sign MOC on Cooperative Measures against Counterfeit Goods