The relationship between the Baltic states and Japan during the interwar period

Abstract

Japan and the Baltic states set up official relations when the latter achieved independence after the First World War. At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the provisional governments in the Baltic provinces tried to contact the Japanese delegation as part of their quest for de jure recognition. The Japanese government, however, recognized them only in 1921–22. Several treaties were signed between the Baltic states and Japan during the interwar period, and consulates and a legation were established. Japan later sought closer relations with the three countries as part of an effort to end the international isolation that followed its withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933. On the eve of World War Two, the Baltic states were also regarded as an important base for collecting intelligence about the USSR, yet the Soviet incorporation of 1940 soon brought all diplomatic relationships to an end. This article surveys the existing literature and presents some further little-known diplomatic episodes from the period.