[Title] Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation

TREATY OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION.

Signed at London, in English, July 16, 1894 (27th year of Meiji).

SRatified August 24, 1894.

SRatifications exchanged at Takio, August 25, 1894.

SPromulgated August 27, 1894.

His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, being equally desirous of maintaining the relations of good understanding which happily exist between them, by extending and increasing the intercourse between their respective States, and being convinced that this object cannot better be accomplished than by revising the Treaties hitherto existing between the two countries, have resolved to complete such a revision, based upon principles of equity and mutual benefit, and, for that purpose, have named as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say:

His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, Viscount Aoki Siuzo, Junii, First Class of the Imperial Order of the Sacred Treasure, His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of St. James':

And Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, the Right Honourable John, Earl of Kimberley, Knight of the Most

Noble Order of the Garter, &c., &c., Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

Who, after having communicated to each other their Full Powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles:

ARTICLE I.

The subjects of each of the two High Contracting Parties shall have full liberty to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the dominions and possessions of the other Contracting Party, and shall enjoy full and perfect protection for their persons and property.

They shall have free and easy access to the Courts of Justice in pursuit and defence of their rights; they shall be at liberty equally with native subjects to choose and employ lawyers, advocates, and representatives to pursue and defend their rights before such Courts, and in all other matters connected with the administration of justice they shall enjoy all the rights and privileges enjoyed by native subjects.

In whatever relates to rights of residence and travel; to the possession of goods and effects of any kind; to the succession to personal estate, by will or otherwise, and the disposal of property of any sort in any manner whatsoever which they may lawfully acquire, the subjects of each Contracting Party shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the other the same privileges, liberties, and rights, and shall be subject to no higher imposts or charges in these respects than native subjects, or subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation. The subjects of each of the Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the other entire liberty of conscience, and, subject to the Laws, Ordinances and Regulations, shall enjoy the right of private or public exercise of their worship, and also the right of burying their respective countrymen, according to their religious customs, in such suitable and convenient places as may be established and maintained for that purpose.

They shall not be compelled, under any pretext whatsoever, to pay any charges or taxes other or higher than those that are, or may be, paid by native subjects, or subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation.

ARTICLE II.

The subjects of either of the Contracting Parties residing in the dominions and possessions of the other shall be exempted from all compulsory military service whatsoever, whether in the army, navy, national guard or militia; from all contributions imposed in lieu of personal service; and from all forced loans or military exactions or contributions.

ARTICLE III.

There shall be reciprocal freedom of commerce and navigation between the dominions and possessions of the two High Contracting Parties.

The subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties may trade in any part of the dominions and possessions of the other by wholesale or retail in all kinds of produce, manufactures, and merchandize of lawful commerce, either in person or by agents, singly, or in partnerships with foreigners or native subjects; and they may there own or hire and occupy the houses, manufactories, warehouses, shops, and premises which may be necessary for them, and lease land for residential and commercial purposes, conforming themselves to the Laws, Police and Customs Regulations of the country like native subjects.

They shall have liberty freely to come with their ships and cargoes to all places, ports, and rivers in the dominions and possessions of the other which are or may be opened to foreign commerce, and shall enjoy, respectively, the same treatment in matters of commerce and navigation as native subjects, or subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation, without having to pay taxes, imposts, or duties, of whatever nature or under whatever denomination levied in the name or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations, or establishments of any kind, other or greater than those paid by native subjects, or subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation, subject always to the Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations of each country.

ARTICLE IV.

The dwellings, manufactories, warehouses, and shops of the subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties in the dominions and possessions of the other, and all premises appertaining thereto destined for purposes of residence or commerce, shall be respected.

It shall not be allowable to proceed to make a search of, or a domiciliary visit to, such dwellings and premises, or to examine or inspect books, papers, or accounts, except under the conditions and with the forms prescribed by the Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations for subjects of the country.

ARTICLE V.

No other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty of any article, the produce or manufacture of the dominions and possessions of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, from whatever place arriving; and no other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation into the dominions and possessions of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan of any article, the produce or manufacture of the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, from whatever place arriving, than on the like article produced or manufactured in any other foreign country; nor shall any prohibition be maintained or imposed on the importation of any article, the produce or manufacture of the dominions and possessions of either of the High Contracting Parties, into the dominions and possessions of the other, from whatever place arriving, which shall not equally extend to the importation of the like article, being the produce or manufacture of any other country. This last provision is not applicable to the sanitary and other prohibitions occasioned by the necessity of protecting the safety of persons, or of cattle, or of plants useful to agriculture.

ARTICLE VI.

No other or higher duties or charges shall be imposed in the dominions and possessions of either of the High Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article to the dominions and possessions of the other than such as are, or may be, payable on the exportation of the like article to any other foreign country; nor shall any prohibition be imposed on the exportation of any article from the dominions and possessions of either of the two Contracting Parties to the dominions and possessions of the other which shall not equally extend to the exportation of the like article to any other country.

ARTICLE VII.

The subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the other exemption from all transit duties, and a perfect equality of treatment with native subjects in all that relates to warehousing, bounties, facilities and drawbacks.

ARTICLE VIII.

All articles which are or may be legally imported into the ports of the dominions and possessions of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan in Japanese vessels may likewise be imported into those ports in British vessels, without being liable to any other or higher duties or charges of whatever denomination than if such articles were imported in Japanese vessels; and reciprocally, all articles which are or may be legally imported into the ports of the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty in British vessels may likewise be imported into those ports in Japanese vessels, without being liable to any other or higher duties or charges of whatever denomination than if such articles were imported in British vessels. Such reciprocal equality of treatment shall take effect without distinction, whether such articles come directly from the place of origin or from any other place.

In the same manner there shall be perfect equality of treatment in regard to exportation, so that the same export duties shall be paid and the same bounties and drawbacks allowed in the dominions and possessions of either of the High Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article which is or may be legally exported therefrom, whether such exportation shall take place in Japanese or in British vessels, and whatever may be the place of destination, whether a port of either of the Contracting Parties or of any third Power.

ARTICLE IX.

No duties of tonnage, harbour, pilotage, lighthouse, quarantine, or other similar or corresponding duties of whatever nature or under whatever denomination, levied in the name or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, Corporations, or establishments of any kind, shall be imposed in the ports of the dominions and possessions of either country upon the vessels of the other country which shall not equally and under the same conditions be imposed in the like cases on national vessels in general or vessels of the most favoured nation. Such equality of treatment shall apply reciprocally to the respective vessels, from whatever port or place they may arrive, and whatever may be their place of destination.

ARTICLE X.

In all that regards the stationing, loading, and unloading of vessels in the ports, basins, docks, roadsteads, harbours, or rivers of the dominions and possessions of the two countries, no privilege shall be granted to national vessels which shall not be equally granted to vessels of the other country; the intention of the High Contracting Parties being that in this respect also the respective vessels shall be treated on the footing of perfect equality.

ARTICLE XI.

The coasting trade of both the High Contracting Parties is excepted from the provisions of the present Treaty, and shall be regulated according to the Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations of Japan and of Great Britain respectively. It is, however, understood that Japanese subjects in the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, and British subjects in the dominions and possessions of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, shall enjoy in this respect the rights which are or may be granted under such Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations to the subjects or citizens of any other country.

A Japanese vessel laden in a foreign country with cargo destined for two or more ports in the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, and a British vessel laden in a foreign country with cargo destined for two or more ports in the dominions and possessions of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, may discharge a portion of her cargo at one port, and continue her voyage to the other port or ports of destination where foreign trade is permitted, for the purpose of landing the remainder of her original cargo there, subject always to the Laws and Custom-house Regulations of the two countries.

The Japanese Government, however, agrees to allow British vessels to continue, as heretofore, for the period of the duration of the present Treaty, to carry cargo between the existing open ports of the Empire, excepting to or from the ports of Osaka, Niigata, and Ebisu-minato.

ARTICLE XII.

Any ship of war or merchant-vessel of either of the High Contracting Parties which may be compelled by stress of weather, or by reason of any other distress, to take shelter in a port of the other, shall be at liberty to refit therein, to procure all necessary supplies, and to put to sea again, without paying any dues other than such as would be payable by national vessels. In case, however, the master of a merchant-vessel should be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his cargo in order to defray the expenses, he shall be bound to conform to the Regulations and Tariffs of the place to which he may have come.

If any ship of war or merchant-vessel of one of the Contracting Parties should run aground or be wrecked upon the coasts of the other, the local authorities shall inform the Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent of the district of the occurrence, or if there be no such Consular officer, they shall inform the Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent of the nearest district.

All proceedings relative to the salvage of Japanese vessels wrecked or cast on shore in the territorial waters of Her Britannic Majesty shall take place in accordance with the Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations of Great Britain, and reciprocally, all measures of salvage relative to British vessels wrecked or cast on shore in the territorial waters of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan shall take place in accordance with the Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations of Japan.

Such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, and all parts thereof, and all furnitures and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandize saved therefrom, including those which may have been cast into the sea, or the proceeds thereof, if sold, as well as all papers found on board such stranded or wrecked ship or vessel, shall be given up to the owners or their agents, when claimed by them. If such owners or agents are not on the spot, the same shall be delivered to the respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, or Consular Agents upon being claimed by them within the period fixed by the laws of the country, and such Consular officers, owners, or agents shall pay only the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, together with the salvage or other expenses which would have been payable in the case of a wreck of a national vessel.

The goods and merchandize saved from the wreck shall be exempt from all the duties of the Customs unless cleared for consumption, in which case they shall pay the ordinary duties.

When a ship or vessel belonging to the subjects of one of the Contracting Parties is stranded or wrecked in the territories of the other, the respective Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents shall be authorized, in case the owner or master, or other agent of the owner, is not present, to lend their official assistance in order to afford the necessary assistance to the subjects of the respective States.

The same rule shall apply in case the owner, master, or other agent is present, but requires such assistance to be given.

ARTICLE XIII.

All vessels which, according to Japanese law, are to be deemed Japanese vessels, and all vessels which, according to British law, are to be deemed British vessels, shall, for the purposes of this Treaty, be deemed Japanese and British vessels, respectively.

ARTICLE XIV.

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents of each of the Contracting Parties, residing in the dominions and possessions of the other, shall receive from the local authorities such assistance as can by law be given to them for the recovery of deserters from the vessels of their respective countries.

It is understood that this stipulation shall not apply to the subjects of the country where the desertion takes place.

ARTICLE XV.

The High Contracting Parties agree that, in all that concerns commerce and navigation, any privilege, favour, or immunity which either Contracting Party has actually granted, or may hereafter grant, to the Government, ships, subjects, or citizens of any other State, shall be extended immediately and unconditionally to the Government, ships, subjects, or citizens of the other Contracting Party, it being their intention that the trade and navigation of each country shall be placed, in all respects, by the other on the footing of the most favoured nation.

ARTICLE XVI.

Each of the High Contracting Parties may appoint Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents in all the ports, cities, and places of the other, except in those where it may not be convenient to recognize such officers.

This exception, however, shall not be made in regard to one of the Contracting Parties without being made likewise in regard to every other Power.

The Consuls-General, Consuls, Vice-Consuls, Pro-Consuls, and Consular Agents may exercise all functions, and shall enjoy all privileges, exemptions, and immunities which are, or may hereafter be, granted to Consular officers of the most favoured nation.

ARTICLE XVII.

The subjects of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the dominions and possessions of the other the same protection as native subjects in regard to patents, trade-marks, and designs, upon fulfilment of the formalities prescribed by law.

ARTICLE XVIII.

Her Britannic Majesty's Government, so far as they are concerned, give their consent to the following arrangement: --

The several foreign Settlements in Japan shall be incorporated with the respective Japanese Communes, and shall thenceforth form part of the general municipal system of Japan.

The competent Japanese authorities shall thereupon assume all municipal obligations and duties in respect thereof, and the common funds and property, if any, belonging to such Settlements, shall at the same time be transferred to the said Japanese authorities.

*1* When such incorporation takes place, existing leases in perpetuity under which property is now held in the said Settlements shall be confirmed, and no conditions whatsoever other than those contained in such existing leases shall be imposed in respect of such property. It is, however, understood that the Consular authorities mentioned in the same are in all cases to be replaced by the Japanese authorities.

All lands which may previously have been granted by the Japanese Government free of rent for the public purposes of the said Settlements shall, subject to the right of eminent domain, be permanently reserved free of all taxes and charges for the public purposes for which they were originally set apart.

ARTICLE XIX.

The stipulations of the present Treaty shall be applicable, so far as the laws permit, to all the colonies and foreign possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, excepting to those hereinafter named, that is to say, except to

India.

The Dominion of Canada.

Newfoundland.

The Cape.

Natal.

New South Wales.

Victoria.

Queensland.

Tasmania.

South Australia.

Western Australia.

New Zealand.

Provided always that the stipulations of the present Treaty shall be made applicable to any of the above-named Colonies or foreign possessions on whose behalf notice to that effect shall have been given to the Japanese Government by Her Britannic Majesty's Representative at Tôkiô within two years from the date of the exchange of ratifications of the present Treaty.

ARTICLE XX.

The present Treaty shall, from the date it comes into force, be substituted in place of the Conventions respectively of the 23rd day of the 8th month of the 7th year of Kayei, corresponding to the 14th day of October, 1854, and of the 13th day of the 5th month of the 2nd year of Keiou, corresponding to the 25th day of June, 1866, the Treaty of the 18th day of the 7th month of the 5th year of Ansei, corresponding to the 26th day of August, 1858, and all Arrangements and Agreements subsidiary thereto concluded or existing between the High Contracting Parties; and from the same date such Conventions, Treaty, Arrangements, and Agreements shall cease to be binding, and, in consequence, the jurisdiction then exercised by British Courts in Japan, and all the exceptional privileges, exemptions, and immunities then enjoyed by British subjects as a part of or appurtenant to such jurisdiction, shall absolutely and without notice cease and determine, and thereafter all such jurisdiction shall be assumed and exercised by Japanese Courts.

ARTICLE XXI.

The present Treaty shall not take effect until at least five years after its signature. It shall come into force one year after His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Government shall have given notice to Her Britannic Majesty's Government of its wish to have the same brought into operation. Such notice may be given at any time after the expiration of four years from the date hereof. The Treaty shall remain in force for the period of twelve years from the date it goes into operation.

Either High Contracting Party shall have the right, at any time after eleven years shall have elapsed from the date this Treaty takes effect, to give notice to the other of its intention to terminate the same, and at the expiration of twelve months after such notice is given this Treaty shall wholly cease and determine.

ARTICLE XXII.

The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged at Tôkiô as soon as possible, and not later than six months from the present date.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at London, in duplicate, this sixteenth day of the seventh month of the twenty-seventh year of Meiji.

(L. S.) AOKI.

(L. S.) KIMBERLEY.

PROTOCOL.

The Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, deeming it advisable in the interests of both countries to regulate certain special matters of mutual concern, apart from the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed this day, have, through their respective Plenipotentiaries, agreed upon the following stipulations: --

1. It is agreed by the Contracting Parties that one month after the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed this day, the Import Tariff hereunto annexed shall, subject to the provisions of Article XXIII of the Treaty of 1858 at present subsisting between the Contracting Parties, as long as the said Treaty remains in force and thereafter, subject to the provisions of Articles V and XV of the Treaty signed this day, be applicable to the articles therein enumerated, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of the dominions and possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, upon importation into Japan. But nothing contained in this Protocol, or the Tariff hereunto annexed, shall be held to limit or qualify the right of the Japanese Government to restrict or to prohibit the importation of adulterated drugs, medicines, food, or beverages; indecent or obscene prints, paintings, books, cards, lithographic or other engravings, photographs, or any other indecent or obscene articles; articles in violation of patent, trade-mark, or copyright laws of Japan; or any other article which for sanitary reasons, or in view of public security or morals, might offer any danger.

The ad valorem duties established by the said Tariff shall, so far as may be deemed practicable, be converted into specific duties by a Supplementary Convention, which shall be concluded between the two Governments within six months from the date of this Protocol; the medium prices, as shown by the Japanese Customs Returns during the six calendar months preceding the date of the present Protocol, with the addition of the cost of insurance and transportation from the place of purchase, production, or fabrication, to the port of discharge, as well as commission, if any, shall be taken as the basis for such conversion. In the event of the Supplementary Convention not having come into force before the expiration of the period fixed for the said Tariff to take effect, ad valorem duties in conformity with the rule recited at the end of the said Tariff shall, in the meantime, be levied.

In respect of articles not enumerated in the said Tariff, the General Statutory Tariff of Japan for the time being in force shall, from the same time, apply, subject, as aforesaid, to the provisions of Article XXIII of the Treaty of 1858 and Articles V and XV of the Treaty signed this day respectively.

From the date the Tariffs aforesaid take effect, the Import Tariff now in operation in Japan in respect of goods and merchandize imported into Japan by British subjects shall cease to be binding.

In all other respects the stipulations of the existing Treaties and Conventions shall be maintained unconditionally until the time when the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed this day comes into force.

2. The Japanese Government, pending the opening of the country to British subjects, agrees to extend the existing passport system in such a manner as to allow British subjects, on the production of a certificate of recommendation from the British Representative in Tôkiô, or from any of Her Majesty's Consuls at the open ports in Japan, to obtain upon application passports available for any part of the country, and for any period not exceeding twelve months, from the Imperial Japanese Foreign Office in Tôkiô, or from the chief authorities in the Prefecture in which an open port is situated; it being understood that the existing Rules and Regulations governing British subjects who visit the interior of the Empire are to be maintained.

3. The Japanese Government undertakes, before the cessation of British Consular jurisdiction in Japan, to join the International Conventions for the Protection of Industrial Property and Copyright.

4. It is understood between the two High Contracting Parties that, if Japan think it necessary at any time to levy an additional duty on the production or manufacture of refined sugar in Japan, an increased customs duty equivalent in amount may be levied on British refined sugar when imported into Japan, so long as such additional excise tax or inland duty continues to be raised.

Provided always that British refined sugar shall in this respect be entitled to the treatment accorded to refined sugar being the produce or manufacture of the most favoured nation.

5. The undersigned Plenipotentiaries have agreed that this Protocol shall be submitted to the two High Contracting Parties at the same time as the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed this day, and that when the said Treaty is ratified the agreements contained in the Protocol shall also equally be considered as approved, without the necessity of a further formal ratification.

It is agreed that this Protocol shall terminate at the same time the said Treaty ceases to be binding.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.

Done at London, in duplicate, this sixteenth day of the seventh month of the twenty-seventh year of Meiji.

(L. S.) AOKI.

(L. S.) KIMBERLEY.

ANNEX. (TARIFF.)

Rule for calculating ad valorem Duties.

Import duties payable ad valorem under this Tariff shall be calculated on the actual cost of the articles at the place of purchase, production, or fabrication, with the addition of the cost of insurance and transportation from the place of purchase, production, or fabrication, to the port of discharge, as well as commission, if any exists.

DIPLOMATIC NOTES.

As regards the Note of the Japanese Minister at London concerning the operation of the Codes, see the similar note as addressed to Denmark, vol. I, part I, p. 812.

Note from the British Government concerning the accession of the Colonies to the Treaty.

July 16, 1894.

Sir,

WITH reference to Article XIX of the Treaty between Great Britain and Japan signed this day, in view of the fact that some of the British Colonies and foreign possessions enumerated in that Article might be prevented from acceding to the present Treaty by reason of their inability to accept the stipulations relating to military service contained in Article II of the said Treaty, and in order to avoid future misunderstandings, Her Majesty's Government request from the Government of Japan an assurance that any of the said British Colonies and possessions may accede to the present Treaty under the condition that, notwithstanding such accession, they shall not be bound by the stipulations of Article II.

I have the honour to be

with the highest consideration,

Sir,

Your most obedient,

humble Servant,

(Signed) KIMBERLEY.

Viscount Aoki,

&c., &c., &c.

Response to the above Note.

London, July 16, 1894.

Monsieur le Comte,

IN reply to the note of Her Majesty's Government, referring to Article XIX of the Treaty between Great Britain and Japan signed this day, and requesting, for the reasons given in the said note, an assurance that any of the British Colonies and foreign possessions enumerated in that Article may accede to the present Treaty under the condition that, notwithstanding such accession, they shall not be bound

by the stipulations of Article II the Government of Japan hereby give the assurance desired.

I have the honour to be

with the highest consideration,

Monsieur le Comte,

Your Excellency's most obedient,

humble Servant,

(Signed) AOKI.

The Right Honourable

Earl of Kimberley, K. G.,

&c., &c., &c.

{*1* See the Protocol, post, p. 167 and "Sentence du Tribunal d'Arbitrage, constitué en verta des mêmes Protocoles ", post, p. 168.}