Brazil–Japan Relationship: A Partnership?

Abstract

This chapter aims to reassess the Brazil–Japan relationship, with emphasis on the post-Cold War era, and including brief comments on their previous relations. To comprehend their relationship’s meaning and mutual expectations, this reinterpretation focuses on strategies, characteristics, and means of cooperation in the political, economic, commercial, and technological dimensions. Initially, we will discuss the concept of strategic partnership and the Brazil–Japan relationship during the Cold War in three moments with differing emphases. Then, we will analyze the first attempts to resume the bilateral relationship in the 1990s, highlighting the role played by the Asian financial crisis in the rapprochement during the twenty-first century, with the landmark moments of the formation of the G4 in 2004, the adoption of the Japanese Digital TV system in 2006, and the celebration of 100 years of Japanese immigration in Brazil in 2008. Finally, we will comment on the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to consolidate the partnership after the global financial crisis (2008) and the effects of China’s growing presence in Latin America.