User:Astzzzz/Brazil–Japan relations

= Brazil–Japan relations = Brazil–Japan relations (日伯関係, Nippaku kankei) refers to the current and historical international relations between Brazil and Japan. The diplomatic relations were officially established on 5th November 1895 between Brazil and Japan with the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation signed in Paris. Early relations were dominated by the Japanese immigration issues. The total number of Japanese immigrants reached 190,000 in the pre-World War II period.

High-level Visits
==== Japan to Brazil ====

History
Before World War II, the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in Brazil opened stores, selling Japanese goods. The Brazil-Japan trade relations through these merchants amounted £35,933 in imports from Japan in 1913. Goods included ceramics, celluloid, toys, toothbrushes, fans, and buttons. Meanwhile, Brazil exported rock crystal and coffee to Japan totaled £2,931. In 1935 Japan sent a trade mission to Brazil that led to a great expansion of trade between 1936 and 1941, which led Brazilian exports to Japan jumped from £158,098 in 1935 to £1,683,106 in 1936 and £2,122,106 in 1937. After world War II, in 1949 a Japanese trade mission visited Brazil and reached an agreement covering US $35 million of foreign trade payments. In the early 1970s, two major trade missions visited Brazil, which led over 150 Japanese companies open branches in Brazil. Therefore, trade increased rapidly, reaching $2.1 billion in 1974. In the late 1970s, the economic relationship came to a new level, moving to large-scale economic cooperative projects based on agreements between the two governments. However, due to Brazilian debt crisis, the progress of closer economic relations slowed down in 1982. After that, the Brazilians of Japanese descents began to come back to Japan for work and education.

Trade Volume
Japan and Brazil shares a long term trade relationship. Japan's exports to Brazil have doubled and imports have tripled in decade. The main imports from Brazil is ores slag and ash, cereals, and meat, while the main exports to Brazil are vehicles other than railway, tramway, machinery, and electrical. In 2018, Brazil exported $4.46B to Japan, while Japan exported $4.12B to Brazil. Though the share of Japan in Brazil’s exports and Brazilian imports in Japan has dropped about 1.1%, during the last 23 years the exports of Japan to Brazil have increased at an annualized rate of 1.79%. There is much room for improving bilateral trading relationship to get mutual benefits. Japan and Brazil try to increase the trading relationship through various ways including discussion on trade bloc of meat and a specific trade area in 2018.

Direct Investment
Japan's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Brazil is increasing since last century and more than 450 Japanese companies are operating in the Brazilian market. The amount of direct investment from Japan in 2018 was $2,203 million. Japanese investment focuses on the manufacturing sector. Brazil occupies the 10th position in the rank of Japan’s FDI. To foster the bilateral trade and FDI, the Brazil-Japan Economic Agreement plays the key role.

Bilateral Relations
Brazil has been deeply influenced by Japan, on both an economic and humanitarian plateau, through various third parties such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Official Development Assistance (ODA) or the World Health Organization (WHO), and so on. Japan plays a significant role in fostering friendly relations and improving the climate for diplomatic activities. In order to increase relations, the frequent ministerial talks have been held between two countries. In 2014, the Brazil president, Rousseff stated that both the parties with this agreement will be able to expand political and economic high level contacts. In 2016 Japan-Brazil Summit Meeting, the Prime Minister stated that Japan attaches importance to its relationship with Brazil as an important partner with which it shares fundamental values such as liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and with which it also cooperates in international fora. President Temer replied that Brazil has become a new country, and along with emphasizing Brazil's stability on the political and judicial fronts, he expressed his strong expectations of increased investment in Brazil by Japanese companies. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) sets to support open innovation by providing financing to potential companies that contribute to the improvement of Brazil and promote sustainability.

Besides, Japan is involved in organizations such as Basic Human Needs (BHN) which makes sure people have the necessities of life. They also contribute to the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) working in Rio de Janeiro to implement the Rio Declaration to spur economic development. The Japanese work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing countries to educate people about the HIV virus and to help search for a cure. In addition, to support the protection of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and combat illegal deforestation Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JICA) intend to begin phase two of the project that utilizes satellite images using artificial intelligence to predict where illegal deforestation may happen next.

Public Perception of Relations
In 2013, due to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ commissions, a private surveying agency in Brazil conduct a public opinion poll on the image of Japan in Brazil. Interviews show that 78% of the respondents believed that Japan and Brazil had “friendly” or “rather friendly” relations. In addition, 84% expected an increase of the importance of Japan for Brazil in the future. With regard to Japan's commitment to global issues, Brazilians recognized such areas as "environmental protection" (42%), "sustainable society" (32%) and "support for disaster prevention" (31%).