Putting Diplomatic Relations between Mexico and Japan into Historical Context

Three key moments in the history of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Japan are analyzed in this essay, in which the author broaches the need to reinterpret major historical events spanning from the late nineteenth century to the first three decades of the twentieth century that have, in one form or another, defined our bilateral ties. The objective is to reconstruct and recoup a shared history dating back four centuries to the first encounter between Japan and Mexico. By offering the reader greater insight into the events that form part of the collective memory of Mexico and Japan, but that have been relegated to the history books or overlooked, Carlos Uscanga puts the political and economic strategies of Mexico’s current foreign policy toward Japan in a new light that takes into account 120 years of diplomatic ties.