La negociación del Tratado de Amistad, Comercio y Navegación de 1888 y su significado histórico

The first contacts between Mexico and Japan can be traced back to the sixteenth century, but these ties were to take on even greater significance in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when both nations embarked on a modernization process that culminated in the signing of a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation in 1888. Iyo Kunimoto puts the background to this historic event into context for us, explaining how Japan, isolated and suffering economic hardship under the Tokugawa shogunate, was forced to enter into “unequal” treaties with the United States in 1854, and later England, Russia and Holland. Most-favored-nation clauses, judicial extraterritoriality, the loss of autonomy over customs duties and other repercussions of these agreements led to the decline of Japan’s fledgling industry, until the new imperial Meiji regime came into power and devoted its energies to reinstating the nation’s sovereignty as a constitutional monarchy. During this era, Mexico was anxious to establish trade and diplomatic relations with China and Japan, in the hope of reaping economic benefits after a protracted period of political instability. According to Kunimoto, two events facilitated this rapprochement: the setting up of Pacific steamship lines and the talks Matías Romero, the Mexican minister commissioned to the United States in Washington, held with Kogoro Takahira, the Japanese legation’s chargé d’affaires ad interim. These talks prompted Secretary Ignacio Mariscal to sign a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation on an equal footing with Japan, setting a precedent that would enable the latter to denounce the inequitable treaties it had signed with other countries. The Treaty marks the official starting point of a diplomatic relationship that has lasted 120 years.