History of Japanese - South Africa relations  

Here are the historical snapshots of interaction between Japan and South Africa.

1643 - A young assistant merchant of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), Jan van Riebeeck, arrived in Nagasaki, Japan.  Van Riebeeck later became the first commander of the Cape.

1666 - “Anthony de Later van Japan” became a free slave in the Cape.

1889 – Furuya Komahei opened Mikado Shoten, a shop selling Japanese goods, in Adderley Street, Cape Town.

1908- Kasado-maru, the first Japanese immigrant ship to Brazil, stopped at Cape Town.

1910 – Julius Otto Jeppe was appointed as Honorary Consul of Japan.

1926 – A regular ship service was established by OSK between Kobe and Durban. Laurens van der Post and William Plomer visited Japan.

1936 – Japan was the third largest market and the fourth largest supplier for the Union of South Africa.

1937 – Japan and South Africa established full diplomatic relations.

1941 – South Africa froze Japanese assets in the dominion and declared war against Japan.

1948 – Japan-South Africa trade resumed.

1952 – Japan established a consulate-general in Pretoria.

1961 –Datsun (later Nissan) started assembling cars in South Africa. Toyota South Africa began manufacturing the next year.

1962- South Africa established a consulate-general in Tokyo.

1964 – The Japan Anti-Apartheid Committee (JAAC) was founded.

1966 – The Japanese School opened in Johannesburg.

1968 – The Japanese government prohibited the Japanese companies from making direct investment in South Africa, followed by other sanction measures over the next twenty years.

1986 and 87 – Steady increase of trade after World War II culminated in Japan becoming the largest trading partner for South Africa.

1988 – The African National Congress (ANC) opened an office in Tokyo.

1992 – Full diplomatic relations were re-established. Both countries upgraded their consulate-general offices to embassies.

Japan has consistently been one of South Africa’s major trading partners and the only one that South Africa enjoys a regular and large trade surplus. In 2010, Japan was South Africa’s third biggest export destination and third overall bilateral trading partner.

As of November 2010, there were 102 Japanese companies in South Africa, which employed more than 150,000 South Africans. In December 2010, an investment of R24 billion was made when Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) acquired Dimension Data.

The bilateral relationship has strengthened not only in terms of trade and investment but also in terms of social, cultural, academic and personal interactions. About 400 South African youths have worked in Japan as assistant language teachers utilising the JET Programme. Moreover, the two governments work together on global issues such as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, reform of the UN Security Council and climate change.

On 3 November 2010, the National Assembly of South Africa unanimously adopted a resolution to convey its gratitude to the government of Japan for 100 years of excellent bilateral relations.