Japan–Poland relations refers to the bilateral foreign relations between Japan and Poland. Both are members of the OECD, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
History Early history The first non-clergymen Poles to arrive in Japan were the adventurer Maurycy Beniowski and his companion Antoni Straszewski, who arrived in 1771 after escaping from Russian exile in Kamchatka. It was also the first Polish ship to arrive in Japan, as they sailed under the Polish flag aboard a seized Russian galiot. Beniowski's expedition was warmly received by the Japanese, an exchange of gifts took place, and sailing southward, Beniowski stopped at several Japanese islands.
19th and early 20th century Japanese novelist Tokai Sanshi wrote about the Partitions of Poland and the Polish independence movement. The Japanese poem Porando kaiko by Ochiai Naobumi about Fukushima Yasumasa's travels in the 1890s mentions the Polish struggle for freedom.
Polish travelers Karol Lanckoroński and Paweł Sapieha, as well as ethnographers Bronisław Piłsudski and Wacław Sieroszewski, among others, wrote about Japan. Translations of Japanese literature, works on Japanese history and culture were published in partitioned Poland. Japanese culture and art were popularized among Poles by Feliks Jasieński, an enthusiast and collector of Japanese art.
Until World War I, Japanese Taiwan imported many Polish goods, i.e. metal products, leather products, haberdashery and soap from Warsaw, cotton products from Łódź, etc.Grochowski, p. 150
During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), General Akashi Motojiro, a Japanese intelligence officer, was tasked with supporting anti-Russian and independence movements in Europe, with the aim of weakening the Russian Empire by supporting anti-Russian movements. In this capacity, he encountered the Polish Socialist Party, which was then seeking broad support for the cause of Polish independence; Motojiro established contact and transferred some funds. Roman Dmowski, a Polish nationalist politician, opposed these actions, arguing that previous experience had shown that the financing of another Polish uprising by a foreign country would not be to Poland's benefit, and that Poland would be treated as an instrument in Japan's great-power ambitions. Dmowski opposed Piłsudski's efforts to secure Japanese support and presented the Japanese government with an alternative political position. Japan under the influence of Dmowski's arguments ultimately declined to support Piłsudski's plans and provided only limited financial assistance.Przystanek Historia: Włodzimierz Suleja "Czwarte powstanie czy pierwsza rewolucja?" During the war, Poles from the Russian Partition of Poland were conscripted into the Russian Army, and Japanese were among Allied prisoners of war held by the Germans in a POW camp in Stargard in modern northwestern Poland.
Interbellum
A statue of Polish anthropologist Bronisław Piłsudski (1866–1918), who was a researcher of Ainu culture and married an Ainu woman who was a citizen of Imperial Japan, stands in Japan.
Japan and Poland established diplomatic relations on March 22, 1919, months after Poland regained its independence in November 1918. In the 1920s, a trade treaty was signed. Japanese-Polish societies were formed in each nation, and literature was translated and publications were issued on topics related to the cultures of both countries. By order of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, over 50 Japanese veterans of the Russo-Japanese War were awarded the Virtuti Militari Cross, Poland's highest military decoration. This symbolic gesture stemmed from the fact that Piłsudski was, at the time, seeking support from many countries for Poland's cause for independence, especially countries that had poor relations with the Tsarist Russia.
During Bolshevik rule in Russia, the Japanese Red Cross undertook a rescue operation to help Polish children deported to Siberia. Japanese ships transported Polish children to Tokyo, where the Japanese Red Cross gave them protection and helped them return to Poland. Imperial Japanese Army soldiers deployed in Siberia after the Russian Revolution assisted in the operation. In the end, a total of 765 Polish orphans scattered throughout many Siberian regions were rescued during the period of 1920 to 1922. The orphans were transported by military ships from Vladivostok to the port of the city of Tsuruga in Japan's Fukui Prefecture. They were then cared for in childcare institutions.
The largest Polish community of early 20th-century Japan (including the interbellum) lived in the Karafuto Prefecture, which further grew after 1925, as many Poles fled Soviet Russian persecution in northern Sakhalin.Grochowski, p. 142 Following the Siberian intervention, Japan supported and subsidized Polish institutions in northern Sakhalin in the early 1920s. Poles in Karafuto engaged in unrestricted social, cultural and economic activities, and a Polish library was established in Toyohara.Winiarz, p. 67 In 1924, Karafuto was visited by Polish ambassador to Japan Stanisław Patek, and many local Poles were granted Polish citizenship and passports. In 1930, two Catholic churches were built in Toyohara and Odomari, co-funded by Poles from Poland and Karafuto.Fiedorczuk, pp. 95–96 Only a handful of Poles lived in other parts of Japan.Grochowski, p. 149 Very few Japanese lived in Poland in the interbellum, including ten in Warsaw and three in Lwów, according to the 1921 Polish census.
In 1930, Polish monks Maksymilian Kolbe and Zeno Żebrowski began their mission in Japan; the latter remained in Japan until his death in 1982, bringing aid to orphans, the elderly, the poor, and the disabled.
Poland and Japan never belonged to the same political bloc, as in many respects they held completely different views and aspirations. Therefore, from the outset, Poland avoided concluding a formal agreement with Japan and maintained significantly limited relations with it. Japanese officer Yamawaki Masataka encountered Polish achievements in breaking Soviet ciphers and proposed to the Japanese military that the Poles teach the Japanese how to crack Russian codes. The Japanese military officials were opposed and skeptical, but ultimately agreed to learn from them. On the other hand, the Poles treated the Japanese with reserve and—guided by pure pragmatism—agreed to an exchange of information regarding the actions of the Soviet Union, which Poles needed anyway, stipulating that such information could concern only that state and must not affect Poland’s relations with other countries and the League of Nations, given that Poland was counting on potential support stemming from French and British influence, which did not align with the Japanese geopolitical perspective. The Pole who taught the Japanese how to break Russian codes was Jan Kowalewski. After gaining trust and building a good reputation in Japan, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 5th Class. However, when Japan and the USSR concluded the Neutrality Pact, Poland came to the conclusion that further exchange of information with Japan had become pointless and the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, concluded two months later, further reinforced this conviction among the Polish establishment. For most of the 20th century, Poland and Japan were on opposite sides of the political spectrum; Poland maintained its membership in the League of Nations and friendly relations with its members, while Japan, after leaving the League of Nations in 1933, ultimately found itself at war with them.Arkadiusz Tarnowski: Polska i Japonia 1989–2004. Stosunki polityczne, gospodarcze i kulturalne. Warszawa: Trio, 2009, s. 21.Polski Słownik Biograficzny, t. 14. 1969, s. 525.
On October 20, 1931, Poland, following the example of other countries, sent a note to the Japanese government regarding their invasion of Manchuria, referencing the Kellogg–Briand Pact. In delivering the note, stated: “We hope that the Government of Japan will understand that Poland must behave like other countries.” In May 1932, at the "Polish Inn," members of a special commission of the League of Nations met with representatives of the Polish diaspora in Harbin. The Poles informed the diplomats that the Japanese actions were inconsistent with international law, and their testimony proved to be crucial in the matter, influencing the creation of the Lytton Report and the commission's decision not to recognize Manchukuo and condemn the Japanese aggression. In 1933, Poland, along with other League of Nations member states, officially condemned Japan's actions in Manchuria, confirming that the region should be under Chinese sovereignty. Poland, wanting to maintain good relations with China and the League of Nations, refused to recognize Manchukuo, but at the same time tried to maintain the Polish consulate in Harbin, which existed long before the Japanese occupation, to help Poles who experienced repression from the Japanese and the local authorities of Manchukuo.Chińskie Radio Międzynarodowe - "„Miasto lodu – Harbin pod okupacją japońską w oczach świadków”
After the Japanese invasion, the situation of Poles in Manchuria deteriorated rapidly. The authorities of Manchukuo revoked the extraterritorial rights previously granted by the Chinese to Polish citizens, thereby depriving Poles and Polish institutions of autonomy and rendering their functioning impossible."The Spokesman Review” z 1 VII 1936 r The Japanese-controlled local authorities confiscated Polish property and concessions, regarding it as a form of punishment for Poland's refusal to recognize Manchukuo. Kazimierz Grochowski, one of the wealthiest Poles in Harbin, was stripped of his assets and concessions by the Japanese occupiers, who told him they had done so because "Poland does not appreciate the importance of Manchukuo".“In Mr. Grochowski’s opinion, the real reason for the expropriation of his property by the Japanese authorities is the Japanese claim that Poland fails to appreciate the significance of Manchukuo” – Warsaw, February 19, 1937 – AAN, MSZ, 6238 A similar fate befell many other Poles living under Japanese occupation. Examples include, among others, wealthy and entrepreneurial Poles—Władysław Kowalski and Lew Zikman—whose assets were confiscated by the Japanese.J. Czajewski, Polacy w Mandżurii, Szczecin 2015, s. 5 Meanwhile, Jerzy Czajewski recalls that his mother's uncle was blackmailed and forced to sell his house to Japanese officers on unfavorable terms.Wspomnienia Polskich Harbińczyków z czasów wojny antyjapońskiej, Chińskie Radio Międzynarodowe, 22.03.2018 This provided a convenient pretext for confiscating Polish interests in Harbin. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was powerless in this matter, and negotiations regarding the return of concessions or compensation were ignored, and the Poles' property rights were questioned.AAN, MSZ, sygn. 6238, Notatka urzędnika Wydziału Wschodniego MSZ o Mandżukuo z 19 II 1937 r.