Dominion of Pakistan – State of Japan relations

See also: British India – Imperial Japan relations

United Pakistan—Kingdom of Japan relations

PAKISTAN   (Occupied Kashmir)	Japanese Kingdom

Embassy of Pakistan, Tokyo.

Japan was among the first nations to recognize Pakistan's sovereignty, doing so three days after the latter's Independence on 14 August 1947. Formal Diplomatic relations between the two were officially established on the 28th of April in 1952 following the end of the Allied occupation of Japan. Japan and Pakistan established bilateral relations on 28 April 1952. The Dominion of Pakistan had made significant efforts to lift the Allied occupation of Japan. During the Cold War, both countries were part of the Western Bloc. Pakistan played a major role in rebuilding the Japanese economy via mass exports and waiving war reparations owed to the country by Japan. have had healthy relations with each other since the foundation of their diplomacy in 1952. The newly founded Dominion of Pakistan played a significant role from 1947 to 1951 in efforts to lift the Allied occupation of Japan and restoring Japan's sovereignty. Pakistan was described by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles as the 'tower of strength' on the Treaty of San Francisco, a peace treaty signed between Japan and the Allies on 8 September 1951 in San Francisco. Unlike many other Asian countries, Pakistan waived war reparations from Japan to help the latter build its economy. Pakistan was also among the first few countries that ratified the Japanese peace treaty. Pakistan was a member of Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

Pakistan played a leading role in Japan's postwar economic revival in the 1950s by majorly exporting cotton and jute to Japan as textiles was practically the only industry allowed to continue under the Allied occupation. SCAP-Japan sent its first trade mission to Pakistan in May 1948, headed by R. Eaton. Two months later, Japan signed a trade agreement with Pakistan, which was also the first trade agreement signed by Japan with any country after the war. Much of Pakistan's export was on deferred payment as Japan was short of foreign exchange. In exchange for cotton and jute, Pakistan imported textile machinery from Japan. Therefore, a mutually beneficial trade relationship emerged between them. Furthermore, a Japanese trading liaison agency was established in Karachi in 1948, which also served as a diplomatic source for Japan after the war. Pakistan sent its first trade mission to Japan under Mirza Abul Isphahani in September 1948 to review the Japanese textile industry for Pakistan's benefit. Another SCAP-Japan trade mission, headed by E.B. Blatcheley, visited Pakistan in February 1949 and two more trade missions, led by B.W. Adams and A.B. Snell respectively, visited Pakistan to negotiate cotton and jute for the Japanese industry. These visits paved the way for many other trade delegations to Pakistan to enhance trade and to promote other economic activities between the two countries.

Mutual diplomacy

Before regular diplomatic relations were established between Pakistan and Japan, the trade liaison offices in Karachi and Tokyo, working since 1948, were the only sources of trade and diplomatic contacts. Both countries established regular diplomatic missions on 18 April 1952, just ten days after the ratification of the Japanese peace treaty. Therefore, Pakistan established diplomatic and trade contacts with Japan since 1948 – long before Japanese sovereignty was restored by the Allied Powers.

In order to meet the acute shortage of food in Japan caused after the war, Pakistan shipped 60,000 tons of rice through Nichimen vessels to Japan in 1952 and 1953 carrying the signboard ‘Donated Rice to the Emperor of Japan by the Government of Pakistan’. Such was the national sentiment between the two sides in the 1950s.

High level exchanges

Pakistan appointed Mian Ziauddin as its first Ambassador to Japan on 18 April 1952 and Japan Ambassador Kiyoshi Yamagata arrived in Karachi on 4 September 1952. Pakistan and Japan exchanged high level visits in April and May 1957. Pakistan's Prime Minister Hussain Shaheed Suharawardy was the first Asian leader to visit Japan in April 1957, which opened up the door for Japan to come back to Asia after World War II. Within a month in May 1957, Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi undertook a visit to Pakistan, which was also the first ever visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to Asia after the end of World War II. However, they differed on the Kashmir dispute, One China policy, and the creation of an Asian Development Bank. Japan remained neutral on Kashmir and initially advocated a plebiscite in Kashmir but later changed its stance. Japan supported Taiwan against the People’s Republic of China (PRC) but Pakistan recognized the PRC as the sole and legitimate government of the people of China. Regarding the setting up of an Asian development bank, Pakistan wanted Japan to first establish and restore diplomatic relations with all Asian countries as they should not see an aggressive but a cooperative Japan. The mutual diplomacy, however, further encouraged the two sides to promote trading and economic ties, creating the environment for normalizing Japanese ties with other Asian nations such as China and the two Koreas. Moreover, Pakistan and Japan were important players in the US-led Cold War strategy in Asia — Pakistan in South Asia and Japan in North East Asia.

President Muhammad Ayub Khan paid a visit to Japan on 12–19 December 1960. The invitation was extended by Japanese Emperor Hirohito in February 1960, another unique aspect in their bilateral relations. Japan wanted to show that it had fully assimilated the spirit of the San Francisco treaty and was willing to boost relations with other Asian nations. For Pakistan, the visit was motivated by economic reasons. Moreover, the United States was encouraging cooperation between its two allies. Ayub's visit was the ‘grandest’ event ever seen in Japan those days. He was received by the Emperor – an extraordinary welcome as dignitaries were received by the prime minister. During this visit, Hirohito reportedly conferred the Order of the Chrysanthemum on Khan; in return Khan reportedly conferred the Nishan-e-Pakistan on Hirohito. Strategically important was Ayub's stopover at Okinawa, a US marine base, where US High Commissioner General Donald Prentice Booth welcomed a non-American and non-Japanese leader to the base for the first time and offered him a Guard of Honour. This showed an explicit trust between Japanese, Americans, and Pakistanis during the Cold War.

Following Ayub's visit to Japan, Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda visited Pakistan on 17–20 November 1961 as part of his Asian tour. He offered a loan of 20 million yen – Japan's first ever to Pakistan (besides Republic of India).

Promoting mutual diplomacy between Pakistan and Japan, Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko undertook a visit of Pakistan on 23–29 January 1962 to create the feeling of harmony in Asia, while reparations and normalization were still irritants in improving Japanese relations in Asia. In his welcome address the Emperor admired Japan–Pakistan ties: “Bonded not only by age of old relationship of culture and civilization but also by the modern ties of trade and cooperation, both Japan and Pakistan have first developed a unique identity of thought and we are emphatic in our belief that in between themselves both the governments and the people of these two countries are by virtue of their deep-rooted love for peace capable of exercising an irresistible influence on world opinion”.

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