150 Years Belgium & Japan
Embassy of Belgium in Tokyo
Throughout the year 2016, Japan and Belgium celebrate 150 years of friendship, in commemoration of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the signing of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation on 1 August 1866. A very important anniversary we were told, taking place under the auspices of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and His Majesty the King of the Belgians.
To put these 150 years into perspective; 1866 was also the year when Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell obtained a patent for the electric telephone and in 1879 the light bulb of Thomas Edison changed the world entirely. The signing of the Treaty was the start of some great (r)evolutions, making the past 150 years truly amazing (and we often feel that everything that can be invented has been invented already…)!
Taking into account the impact of the past 150 years on our world, we strongly felt that those friendly relations between Belgium and Japan deserved some attention!