The Embassy of Poland in Tokyo is the main diplomatic mission representing Poland in Japan.
History
Japan and Poland first established diplomatic relations in 1919, shortly following the establishment of the Second Polish Republic, which was the first Polish sovereign state after centuries of partitions. Amidst the context of the Polish diplomatic service being rebuilt in a difficult and corrupt environment, there was some difficulty with appointing the first envoy for the planned Polish legation. In 1920, Józef Targowski [pl], then envoy to Siberia, was designated minister plenipotentiary to Japan. Although he had earlier suggested the establishment of such a post to complement his activities, he was rather surprised to learn of his appointment, which was not helped by the fact that he had been notified about it two weeks after all other involved parties. Despite wondering about the broadness of the territory he now had jurisdiction over, he went to Japan to fulfill his duties.[1]
In 1937, the legation was upgraded to an embassy, with Tadeusz Romer, the newly appointed envoy, becoming the first ambassador of Poland to Japan. However, the outbreak of World War II brought a number of challenges to the mission. Despite German pressure, the embassy was able to stay open for some time, and Romer used it to take care of Polish refugees in Japan and facilitate travel to safer countries.[2] Finally, the embassy had to close in 1941.[3]
After the declaration of martial law in Poland in 1981, Ambassador Zdzisław Rurarz [pl] escaped from the embassy and successfully sought asylum in the United States, citing the use of military force against civilians as the reason for his defection.[4] In 1995, a competition was held to design what wound become the current complex, with Ingarden & Ewý Architects winning. They used a design that aimed to balance the restraints of Japanese architectural laws and safety concerns as well as beauty, uniqueness and open spaces, with the new embassy opening on 30 May 2001.[5]
There are two Polish Honorary Consulates in Japan one in Kobe and one in Hiroshima.[11]
References
^Pałasz-Rutkowska, Ewa[in Polish] (2014). "The Making of a European Field: Japan's Recognition of Independent Poland". In Minohara, Tosh; Hon, Tze-Ki; Dawley, Evan (eds.). The decade of the Great War: Japan and the wider world in the 1910s. Leiden, the Netherlands. pp. 238–239, 242–244. doi:10.1163/9789004274273_013. ISBN978-1-306-85826-7. OCLC881367773.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
