Iran-Japan Trade Relations (From the beginning to the First Pahlavi)

Indirect trade between Iran and Japan dates back to the Safavid era and lingered on into mid-Qajar period. During the Safavid period until the outset of the Qajar era European and Indian merchants acted respectively as business intermediaries between Iran and Japan. However, the direct trade relations between Iran and Japan were not established until the later years of the Qajar dynasty. The first official contacts came about under Nasir al-Din Shah when the first Japanese delegation, driven by trade and commercial intentions, entered Iran. Japan’s growth and development and its attempts to keep abreast of global transformations in an effort to expand its economic clout led it to promote trade with Iran. Nationwide reforms and the opening of diplomatic relations between Iran and Japan under the First Pahlavi, promoted trade between the two countries. The current research draws upon the archives at the Center for Documents and the History of Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to analyze the volume and magnitude of trade between Iran and Japan and study the ways through which trade, import and export could further be promoted between the two countries.