Japan–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between Japan and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and Japan recognized it on March 18, 2008.[1] According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on February 25, 2009.[2]
Sadako Ogata, the Japanese-born UN High Commissioner for Refugees, issued an official statement in November 1998 which revealed the violence and abuse that civilians in Kosovo faced every day; an estimated 175,000 people remained displaced inside Kosovo. She demonstrated on the report a lasting commitment to protect Kosovar refugees and returnees and to seek solutions to relevant problems there.[3] In order to cease the appalling violence and to regain peace and prosperity in Kosovo as soon as possible, the Government of Japan declared in April 1999 to provide assistance to international organizations and the neighboring countries which accepted numerous Kosovar refugees, including the UNHCR, Albania and Macedonia.[4]
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and Japan recognized it on March 18, 2008.[1] Japan is the third Asian country which recognized the Republic of Kosovo after Afghanistan and Turkey.[5]
The embassy of Kosovo was opened in Tokyo on July 16, 2010.[6] Japan had no embassy in Pristina until January 1, 2020.[7]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed the launch of the Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative on his visit to several Southeast European countries in January 2018. Although he did not visit Kosovo at that time, the scheme emphasized that Japan would strengthen bilateral assistance, support regional cooperation and establish new embassies to the Western Balkan countries including the Republic of Kosovo.[8] As a part of the initiative, two years later, the embassy of Japan was opened in Pristina.[9]
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