Finland–Japan relations

Finland–Japan relations are foreign relations between Finland and Japan. Japan first recognized Finland and established diplomatic relations in 1919. Diplomatic relations were temporarily broken in 1944 but were re-established again in 1957. Since, Finland and Japan have maintained good-natured relations, and have cooperation in places such as social welfare, science and technology and trade. In 2013 Japan Airlines started operating direct flights between Tokyo and Helsinki.[1]

Finland-Japan relations
Map indicating locations of Finland and Japan

Finland
Japan

In May 2000 Emperor Akihito visitied Finland.[2]

The Japanese also make up a large portion of tourists and expats in Finland, and is a popular holiday destination in Japan. The Finnish Moomin series has also been highly popular in Japan, particularly the 1990 TV adaptation.[3]

History
Presidents Sauli Niinistö and Shinzo Abe
Embassy of Finland in Tokyo

1919-1944
Japanese military visit in 1943

Despite a large geographical distance, Finland was seen as a friendly nation to Japan during this period. Mainly because there had not been any conflicts with the Finns, cultural contacts and because of the linguistical theory Ural-Altaic, which made people believe that Japanese and Finnish people were actually related. In this period only a few Japanese came to Finland, however Japanese newspapers published often had favourable articles on Finland, especially after the Winter War, articles about Finns being "heroic" were published. Some newspapers even said the Finns were similar in character and in race to the Japanese, and essentially Asians. Many Japanese individuals who had been in Finland made introductory sketches of Finnish culture which spoke very highly of Finns. There were some people in the Japanese army who wanted to conquer the Soviet far east and supported the Greater Finland idea.

After the Finns signed peace with the Soviet Union, diplomatic relations were severed, because of British pressure.[4]

References
  1. "Japan-Finland Relations (Overview)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  2. "Japanese-Finnish Bilateral Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (in Finnish). Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  3. Wood, Jessica (21 November 2017). "Are Finland and Japan Obsessed With Each Other?". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  4. (PDF) https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/5026/1/KJ00000112960.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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