Referencias sobre el Inicio del Establecimiento de Relaciones Diplomáticas entre Japón y España

Legal and Politico-Strategic Review José María Laína Gallego, “References on the Beginning of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Spain”, CODESEL Bulletin (Cadre of Defense and Security Law), Vol. 2, No. 7, February 2026 This article offers a carefully documented and historically grounded analysis of the legal foundations of diplomatic relations between Japan and Spain, focusing on the 1868 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation signed in Kanagawa. Its principal contribution lies in situating this bilateral instrument within the broader transformation of Japan’s international legal personality during the mid-nineteenth century, while highlighting its significance as a constitutive act of diplomatic recognition and normalization rather than a merely commercial agreement. From a legal perspective, the article convincingly demonstrates that the 1868 Treaty must be understood as a treaty of establishment of diplomatic relations in the strict sense of international law. The close reading of Articles 1 and 2—addressing perpetual peace and friendship, as well as the reciprocal appointment of diplomatic and consular agents—supports the conclusion that the treaty created a durable framework of inter-state relations. The author’s emphasis on these provisions is doctrinally sound and corrects interpretations that reduce the treaty to a sectoral trade instrument. The historical reconstruction preceding the treaty is not merely contextual but legally relevant. By tracing early contacts—such as the 1609 shipwreck of the Spanish galleon San Francisco and the humanitarian rescue of its crew by Japanese ama—the article illustrates the existence of pre-diplomatic interactions that foreshadowed later legal normalization. Equally important is the analysis of Japan’s prolonged isolation (sakoku) and its termination following the U.S.–Japan Treaty of 1854, which the author correctly identifies as a structural precondition for Spain’s subsequent diplomatic engagement. A particularly noteworthy contribution of the article is its examination of religious freedom under Article 4 of the 1868 Treaty. The author persuasively argues that the recognition of the right of Spanish residents in Japan to freely practice their religion—including the construction of places of worship—constituted a remarkably advanced legal provision for its time. This analysis situates the treaty within the genealogy of human rights protection, highlighting how bilateral diplomacy functioned as an early vector for the international circulation of fundamental freedoms prior to their systematic codification in twentieth-century international law. From a politico-strategic standpoint, the article implicitly situates the treaty within the dynamics of imperial competition, maritime connectivity, and commercial expansion in the Pacific. Spain’s interest in Japan is convincingly linked to its presence in the Philippines and other Pacific territories, underscoring how geographic proximity and maritime routes shaped diplomatic priorities. At the same time, Japan’s selective engagement with European powers is presented as a strategic process of controlled integration into the international system rather than passive opening. The discussion of the subsequent 1897 Treaty of Friendship and General Relations further reinforces the argument that diplomatic relations between Spain and Japan evolved through legal continuity rather than rupture, preserving core elements such as religious freedom while adapting to changing international conditions. This longitudinal perspective enhances the article’s analytical depth and confirms its relevance beyond purely historical inquiry. Overall, this contribution stands out as a methodologically rigorous and legally attentive study that bridges diplomatic history and international law. It demonstrates how bilateral treaties functioned as foundational instruments of legal personality, recognition, and normative transfer in the nineteenth-century international order. The article is of particular value for scholars interested in diplomatic law, treaty practice, the history of international relations, and the legal dimensions of cross-cultural engagement.