Japan–Mongolia relations originally began in the 13th century between the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

and the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, when the latter tried to conquer the former but failed. Formal diplomatic interactions were not established until the late 20th century.

History

Mongol invasions

By 1259, Korean resistance to the Mongol invasion had collapsed. With Korea under Mongol control, the attempts by the

to invade the

Japanese Archipelago The is an archipelago of list of islands of Japan, 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China Sea, East China and Philippine Sea, Philippine seas in the southwest al ...

began after the

Goryeo Dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

(now

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

) formed an alliance with

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

of the Mongols. Kublai sent several emissaries, in 1268, demanding that the "king" of Japan submit to the Empire, under its mandate from Eternal Heaven. These emissaries were either ignored or rebuffed by Japan, and as a consequence in October 1274 Kublai sent an invasion fleet across Tsushima Strait to Tsushima Island, comprising over 900 ships and 20,000 soldiers. This, the first invasion, overran Tsushima and

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut, in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute, originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japane ...

. From there they sailed to

Hakata Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city, on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. It faces the Tsushima Strait, and features beaches and a port, though parts of the bay have been reclaimed in the expansion of the city of Fukuoka. The ba ...

, which resulted in the

Battle of Bun'ei The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to Mongol invasions of Japan, invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima Isl ...

, where what the Japanese were later to call a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

("divine wind") wrecked the invading forces in their ships. The second attempted invasion came after more envoys had been sent in 1275 and 1279. At that time, the Japanese beheaded them rather than simply refusing them. As a consequence, Kublai dispatched another invasion fleet, consisting the Song fleet, which the Empire captured in 1275, and a further 1,000 ships supplied by Goryeo. The latter arrived in Japan in May 1281 before the Song fleet, and attacked Hakata without waiting for the Song ships, and also without success. Thus began the

Battle of Kōan The , also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to Mongol invasions of Japan, invade Japan after their failed attempt seven years earlier at the Battle of Bun'ei. In t ...

. The Song fleet arrived later, and also attacked Hakata, but were unable to overcome Japanese forces. Eventually, on the 15th of August, another kamikaze wrecked the invading forces in their ships.

20th century

Before World War II

After the collapse of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

that had ruled Mongolia for some centuries and the

Outer Mongolian revolution of 1911 The Mongolian Revolution of 1911 occurred when the region of Outer Mongolia declared its independence from the Manchu-led Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. A combination of factors, including economic hardship and failure to resist Wester ...

(for more of the history, see

History of Mongolia Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (3rd century BC–1st century AD), the Xianbei state ( AD 93–234), the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and others, ruled the area o ...

.) and after the rise of Japan to world power status in the early 20th century, the Mongolian government of

Bogd Khan Bogd Khan (13 October 1869 – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia from 1911 to 1924, following the state's ''de facto'' independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the ...

sent emissaries requesting formal diplomatic recognition to various world powers, including the Internal Affairs Minister,

Da Lam Tserenchimed Da Lam Tserenchimed (1869 – 1914) was a prominent lama and early 20th century Mongolian independence leader. In December 1911, he was appointed interior minister and ''de facto'' prime minister in the Bogd Khan's first government of Bogd Kha ...

, who was sent to Japan in 1913.

Since World War II

After World War II, diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia only resumed on 24 February 1972. This was done following the invitation and attendance of Mongolia to the

Expo '70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

, held in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, which revealed a strong desire to normalise relations on both sides. Following this, the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party voted against raising the issue of war reparations with Japan, thus leading to an exchange of diplomats and restoring of formal relations. On 17 March 1977, the two nations signed an agreement on economic co-operation. This agreement gave Mongolia an investment of into cashmere production. By 1988, trade between Mongolia and Japan was worth , equivalent to 43% of all Mongolian trade with capitalist nations. Relations improved following

1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia The Mongolian Revolution of 1990, known in Mongolia as the 1990 Democratic Revolution (), was a peaceful democratic revolution which led to the country's transition to a multi-party system. It was inspired by the economic reforms of the So ...

, whereupon Sousuke Uno's visit in April 1989 and

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Born in Nagoya, Kaifu graduated from Waseda University and was first elected to the Diet in 1960 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as educ ...

's visit to Mongolia in August 1991, following the visit by

Dumaagiin Sodnom Dumaagiin Sodnom (; born 14 July 1933) is a Mongolian political figure who served as Prime Minister of Mongolia from 1984 to 1990. Biography Sodnom was born in the Örgön District of Dornogovi Province on 14 July 1933. He first attended sch ...

to Japan in March 1990, became the first visits to Mongolia by a non-

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

minister and prime minister, respectively. More recently Japan and Mongolia have been seeking relationship improvements. In 2008, the

Japan Bank for International Cooperation The , JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency that was created on October 1, 1999, through the merger of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). JBIC became the ...

financed a () loan for the

government of Mongolia The Government of Mongolia (, ''Mongol Ulsyn Zasgiin gazar'') is the highest executive body and national cabinet of Mongolia. It consists of the Prime minister and other members. The Prime minister is designated by the State Great Khural, and ...

to build a new international airport in

Töv Province Töv Province (from Mongolian ''төв'' 'centre') is one of the 21 provinces of Mongolia. The national capital Ulaanbaatar is located roughly at its center, but the city itself is administered as an independent municipality. Geography The pr ...

to service

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

(currently serviced by

Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport, formerly called Chinggis Khaan International Airport from 2005 to 2020 , is a semi-operational international airport serving Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, situated southwest of the capital. Largely Chinggis Khaan I ...

). Construction lasted between 2012 and 2017. The new airport is from the capital and is designed to handle 1.65 million passengers annually. Almost 40% of Mongolians regard Japan as a more important foreign partner than China.

Japanese culture Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

has seen a rise in popularity among the young Mongolian population. Besides

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

being one of the most commonly studied foreign languages in Mongolia, cultural exports from Japan such as

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

have made an impact on modern Mongolian society.

References

Cross-reference

Reference bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Japan-Mongolia relations

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Bilateral relations of Mongolia