Treaty between Austria-Hungary and Japan., this eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, or the fourteenth day of the ninth month of the second year of Meiji

Treaty between Austria-Hungary and Japan.

[English version.]

His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, &c., and Apostolic King of Hungary, on the one part, and His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, on the other part, being desirous to place the relations between the two Empires on a permanent and friendly footing, and to facilitate the commercial intercourse between their respective subjects, have resolved to enter into a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation, and have for that purpose appointed as their plenipotentiaries, that is to say, His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, the Rear-Admiral Baron Anthony Petz, minister plenipotentiary and envoy in extraordinary mission, Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, &c., &c., &c.; His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, Sawa Kiyowara no Ason Nobuyoshi, principal minister for foreign affairs, invested with the second degree of the third rank, and Terashima Fujiwara no Ason Munenori, assistant minister for foreign affairs, invested with the second degree of the fourth rank, who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, and found them to be in due and proper form/have agreed upon the following articles:

Art. 1. There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the high contracting powers and their respective subjects.

Art. 2. His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty shall have the right to appoint a diplomatic agent, a consul general, and for every port or town in Japan open to foreign trade a consul, vice consul, or consular agent. These officials shall have the same privileges and rights as those of the most favored nation.

The diplomatic agent appointed by His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, as well as the consul general, shall have the right to travel freely in any part of the Japanese Empire.

Likewise those imperial and royal consular officers who are intrusted with judicial powers shall have the right, whenever an Austro-Hungarian ship is wrecked, or an attack is made upon the life and property of an Austro-Hungarian citizen within the limits of their jurisdiction, to proceed to the spot in order to collect such evidence as may be necessary. But in every such case the imperial and royal consular officers shall inform the Japanese local authorities, in writing, of the object of their journey and the place to which they intend to proceed, and shall undertake this journey only in the company of a high Japanese officer, to be appointed by the Japanese authorities.

His Majesty the Emperor of Japan may appoint a diplomatic agent at the Court of Vienna and consular officers at any port or town of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy where consular officers of any other power are admitted to reside.

The diplomatic agent and the consular officers of Japan shall, under the condition of reciprocity, enjoy in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the same rights, privileges, and immunities which those of any other power now enjoy or may hereafter enjoy

Art. 3. The ports and towns of Yokohama, (in the district of Kanawaga,) Hiogo, Osaka, Nagasaki. Niigata, Ebisuminato, on the island of Sado, Hakodate, and the city of Tokei, (Yedo,) shall, from the day on which this treaty comes into operation, be opened to the citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and to their trade.

In the above ports and towns Austro-Hungarian citizens may permanently reside; they shall have the right therein to lease land, to purchase houses, and to erect dwellings and warehouses.

The place where Austro-Hungarian citizens shall reside, and where they shall erect their buildings, shall be determined on by the imperial and royal consular officers in conjunction with the competent local authorities. The harbor regulations shall be arranged in a similar manner.

If the imperial and royal consular officer and the Japanese authorities cannot agree, the matter shall be submitted to the diplomatic agent and the Japanese government.

No wall, fence, or gate shall be erected by the Japanese around the place where Austro-Hungarian citizens reside, and nothing shall be done there which may prevent free egress or ingress.

Austro-Hungarian citizens shall be free to go where they please within the following limits:

At Yokohama (in the district of Kahagawa) to the river Rokugo and ten ri in any other direction.

At Hiogo in the direction of Kioto as far as ten ri from that city, and ten ri in any other direction.

At Osaka, on the south, from the mouth of the Yamatogawa to Funabashimura, and from the latter place within the limits of a line drawn from there through Kiokojimura to Sada. The town of Sakai lies outside these limits, but Austro-Hungarian citizens shall be allowed to visit it.

At Nagasaki into any part of the Nagasaki district.

At Niigata and Hakodate ten in any direction.

At Ebisuminato throughout the whole island of Sado.

At Tokei (Yedo) within the following boundaries: From the mouth of the Shintonegawa to Kanamashi, and from there along the high-road to Mito as far as Senji; from there, along the river Sumida, as far as Furuyakamigo, and thence through Omuro, Takakura, Koyata, Ogiwara, Miyadera, Mitsugi, and Tanaka to the ferry of Hino on the river Rokugo.

The distances of ten ri shall be measured by land from the sahibansh, or town-hall, of each of the above-mentioned places. One ri is equal to 12,367 feet Austrian measure, 4,275 yards English measure, 3,910 meters French measure.

Austro-Hungarian citizens who transgress these limits shall be liable to a fine of one hundred Mexican dollars for the first offense, and for a second offense to a fine of two hundred and fifty Mexican dollars.

Art. 4. Austro-Hungarian citizens residing in Japan shall be allowed the free exercise of their religion, and for this purpose they shall have the right to erect within the limits of their settlement suitable places of worship.

Art. 5. All questions in regard to rights, whether of property or of person, arising between Austro-Hungarian citizens residing in Japan, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the imperial and royal authorities. In like manner the Japanese authorities shall not interfere in any question which may arise between Austro-Hungarian citizens and the subjects of any other treaty power.

If an Austro-Hungarian citizen has a complaint or grievance against a Japanese subject, the case shall be decided by the Japanese authorities.

If, on the contrary, a Japanese has a complaint or grievance against a citizen of the said monarchy, the case shall be decided by the imperial and royal authorities.

Should any Japanese subject fail to discharge debts incurred to an Austro-Hungarian citizen, or should he fraudulently abscond, the competent Japanese authorities will do their utmost to bring him to justice and to enforce recovery of the debts. And should any Austro-Hungarian citizen fraudulently abscond, or fail to discharge debts incurred by him to a Japanese subject, the imperial and royal authorities will do their utmost to bring him to justice and to enforce recovery of the debts.

Neither the Austro-Hungarian nor the Japanese authorities shall be held responsible for the payment of any debts contracted by Austro-Hungarian or Japanese subjects.

Art. 6. Austro-Hungarian citizens who may commit any crime against Japanese subjects, or against the subjects of any other nation, shall be brought before the imperial and royal consular officer and punished according to the laws of their country.

Japanese subjects who may commit any crime against Austro-Hungarian citizens shall be brought before the Japanese authorities, and punished according to Japanese laws.

Art. 7. Any case involving a penalty or confiscation by reason of any breach of this treaty, the trade-regulations, or the tariff annexed thereto, shall be brought before the imperial and royal consular authorities for decision. Every penalty enforced or confiscation made by these authorities shall belong to and be appropriated by the Japanese government.

Goods which are seized shall be put under the seals of both the Japanese and the consular authorities, and shall be kept in the godowns of the custom-house until the imperial and royal consul shall have given his decision.

If this decision is in favor of the owner or consignee of the goods, they shall be immediately placed at the disposal of the consul; but should the Japanese government wish to appeal against the decision of the consul, the owner or consignee of the goods shall be bound to deposit their value at the imperial and royal consulate until the final decision has been pronounced.

Should the seized goods be of a perishable nature, they shall be handed over to the owner or consignee, even before the final decision be given, on his lodging the amount of their value at the imperial and royal consulate.

Art. 8. At each of the ports open or to be opened to trade, Austro-Hungarian citizens shall be at full liberty to import from their own or any other ports, and sell there and purchase therein, and export to their own or to any other ports, all manner of merchandise not contraband, paying the duties thereon as laid down in the tariff annexed to this treaty, and no other charges whatsoever.

In estimating ad valorem duties, if the custom-house officers are dissatisfied with the value placed by a merchant on any of his goods, they may themselves place a value thereon, and offer to take the goods at that valuation. If the owner refuses this offer, he shall pay the duty on the valuation which the Japanese custom-house officers have made. If, on the contrary, the owner accepts the offer, the custom-house valuation shall be paid to him without delay, and without any abatement or discount.

Art. 9. Austro-Hungarian citizens having imported merchandise into one of the open ports of Japan, and having paid the” duty due thereon, shall be entitled to demand from the Japanese custom-house authorities a certificate, stating that such payment has been made, and shall be at liberty by virtue of this certificate to re-export the same merchandise and land it in any other of the open ports without the payment of any additional duty whatever.

Art. 10. The Japanese government engages to erect in all the open ports warehouses in which imported goods may be stored on the application of the importer or owner without payment of duty.

The Japanese government will be responsible for the safe custody of these goods so long as they remain in their charge, and during such time will adopt all the precautions necessary to render the said goods insurable against fire. When the owner or importer wishes to remove the goods from the said warehouses, he must pay the duties fixed by the tariff annexed to this treaty; but if he should wish to re-export them, he may do so without payment of duty.

Storage charges must be paid, in any case, on delivery of the goods. The amount of these charges, as well as the regulations necessary for the management of the said warehouses, will be established by common consent of the high contracting parties.

Art. 11. Citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire shall be at liberty to ship all kinds of Japanese produce bought in one of the open ports in Japan to another open port in Japan without the payment of any duty.

When Japanese products are shipped by an Austro-Hungarian citizen from one of the open ports to another, the said citizen shall deposit at the custom-house the amount of duty which would have to be paid if the same goods were exported to foreign countries. This amount shall he returned by the Japanese authorities to the said citizen immediately, and without any objection on their part, upon the production within six months of a certificate from the custom-house authorities at the port of destination stating that the same goods have been landed there.

In the case of goods the export of which to foreign ports is absolutely prohibited, the shipper must deposit at the custom-house a written declaration, binding himself to pay to the Japanese authorities the full value of the said goods in case he should fail to produce the aforesaid certificate within the above-mentioned time.

Should a vessel bound from one of the open ports to another be lost on the voyage, proof of the loss shall take the place of the custom-house certificate, and a term of one year shall be allowed to the Austro-Hungarian citizen to furnish this proof.

Art. 12. All goods imported by citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy into one of the open ports in Japan, on which the duties stipulated by the present treaty have been paid, may—whether they are in the possession of Austro-Hungarian citizens or of Japanese subjects—be transported by the owners into any part of the Japanese Empire without the payment of any tax or transit duty whatever.

All articles of Japanese production may be conveyed by Japanese subjects from any place in Japan to any of the open ports without being liable to any tax or transit duty, with the exception of such tolls as are levied equally on all traders for the maintenance of roads or navigation.

Art. 13. Austro-Hungarian citizens shall be at liberty to buy from Japanese and sell to them all articles, without the intervention of any Japanese officer, either in such purchase or sale or in making or receiving payment for the same.

All Japanese shall be at liberty to buy any articles from Austro-Hungarian citizens, either within the limits of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or in the open ports of Japan, without the intervention of any Japanese officer; and they may either keep and use the articles, which they have thus bought, or resell them. In their commercial transactions with Austro-Hungarian citizens the Japanese shall not be subject to higher taxation than that usually paid by them in their transactions with each other.

Likewise all Japanese subjects may, on condition of observing the laws, visit the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as the open ports of Japan, and there transact business with citizens of the said Empire freely and without the intervention of Japanese officers; provided, always, they submit to the existing police regulations and pay the established duties.

All Japanese subjects may ship goods of Japanese or foreign origin to, from, or between the open ports in Japan, or from or to foreign ports, either in vessels owned by Japanese or by citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Art. 14. The regulations of trade and the tariff annexed to this treaty shall be considered as forming a part of the treaty, and therefore as binding on the high contracting parties.

The diplomatic agent of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in Japan, in conjunction and by mutual agreement with such officers as the Japanese government may designate for this purpose, shall have power to make for all ports open to trade such rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of the annexed regulations of trade.

The Japanese authorities will adopt at each port such measures as they may judge most proper to prevent fraud and smuggling.

Art. 15. The Japanese government will not prevent citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy residing in Japan from taking Japanese into their service as interpreters, teachers, servants, &c., or from employing them in any way not forbidden by law; provided, always, that in case such Japanese shall commit a crime, he shall be subject to Japanese law.

Japanese shall also be at liberty to take service in any capacity on board of ships belonging to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Japanese in the service of Austro-Hungarian citizens shall, on application to the local authorities, obtain permission to accompany their employers abroad.

Furthermore, all Japanese, on being provided with regular passports from their authorities, according to the proclamation of the Japanese government, dated the 23d of May, 1866, may travel to the Austro-Hungarian Empire for purposes of study or trade.

Art. 16. The Japanese government engage to improve immediately the manufacture of Japanese coin. The Japanese principal mint, as well as the special offices to be organized at all the open ports, will then receive from foreigners and Japanese, without distinction of rank, foreign coins of all kinds as well as silver and gold bullion, and will exchange the same for Japanese coin of the same intrinsic value, deducting a certain charge for coinage, the amount of which will be fixed by consent of the high contracting powers.

Citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and Japanese subjects may freely use foreign or Japanese coin in making payments to each other.

Coins of all description, (with the exception of Japanese copper coin,) as well as foreign bullion in gold and silver, may be exported from Japan.

Art. 17. The Japanese government will provide all ports open to the trade of Austro-Hungarian citizens with such light-houses, lights, buoys, and beacons as may be necessary to facilitate and render secure the navigation of the approaches to the said ports.

Art. 18. If any vessel of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy be wrecked or stranded on the coasts of Japan, or be compelled to take refuge in any Japanese port, the competent Japanese authorities, on being apprised of the fact, shall immediately render to the vessel all the assistance in their power. The persons on board shall receive friendly treatment and be furnished, if necessary, with the means of conveyance to the nearest Austro-Hungarian consular station.

Art. 19. Supplies of all kinds for the use of the Austro-Hungarian navy may be landed at the open ports of Japan, and stored in warehouses in the custody of Austro-Hungarian officers, without the payment of any duty. But if any such supplies are sold to foreigners or Japanese, the purchasers shall pay the proper duty to the Japanese authorities.

Art. 20. It is hereby expressly stipulated, that the Austro-Hungarian government, and the citizens of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, shall, from the day on which this treaty comes into operation, participate in all privileges, immunities, and advantages which have been granted or may be hereafter granted by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the government or subjects of any other nation.

Art. 21. It is agreed that either of the high contracting parties may demand a revision of this treaty, of the trade regulations and the tariff annexed thereto, on and after the 1st of July, 1872, with a view to the insertion therein of such modifications or amendments as experience shall prove to be expedient. It is necessary, however, that one year’s notice must be given before such revision can be claimed.

In case, however, His Majesty the Emperor of Japan should desire the revision of all the treaties before the above-mentioned date, and obtain thereto the consent of all the of her treaty powers, the Austro-Hungarian government will also join, at the request of the Japanese government, in the negotiations relating to the same.

Art. 22. All official communications addressed by the imperial and royal diplomatic agent or consular officers to the Japanese authorities, shall be written in the German language.

In order, however, to facilitate the transaction of business, these communications will, for a period of three years from the date on which this treaty comes into operation, be accompanied by an English or Japanese translation.

Art. 23. The present treaty is written in seven copies, viz: two in the Japanese, three in the English, and two in the German language. All these versions have the same meaning and intention, but in case of dispute the English text shall be considered as the original one.

Art. 24. The present treaty shall be ratified by His Majesty the Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary and His Majesty the Emperor of Japan under their hands and seals, and the ratifications shall be exchanged within twelve months from this date, or sooner if possible.

It is also agreed, that this treaty shall come into operation from the present date.

In token whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed and sealed this treaty.