Japanese-German Center Berlin

The Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) is a non-profit foundation based in Berlin. According to its own description, it works to promote and deepen German-Japanese and international exchange in the fields of business, science, culture, society and politics, and states that it has contributed to the political and economic development of its countries since 1985. It describes itself as a place of encounter for those wishing to engage in shaping Japanese-German relations, seeking synergies with cooperation partners, and offering activities ranging from academic conferences and cultural programmes to exchange programmes and language courses. It also states that multilateral exchange has gained importance over time and that it works with cooperation partners in an international network.

The foundation was established in 1985. According to the JDZB's own history page, in November 1983 Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl paid an official visit to Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, during which the two heads of government agreed to found a forum for European-Japanese encounters to give scientists, entrepreneurs and other representatives of both countries and cultures opportunities for dialogue and cooperation. At a symposium in Kyoto on ways to realise the project, many proposals were already put forward that the Japanese-German Center Berlin later implemented and that were incorporated into the foundation's guidelines; funds for evaluating the project were provided in the Japanese budget. On the margins of the 1984 economic summit in London, the two heads of government agreed to set up a German-Japanese mixed commission, which met in Berlin and Tokyo in the autumn of the same year and worked out the key points for an agreement. This German-Japanese government agreement was signed on 1 March 1985, after the Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin (JDZB) foundation had already been called into being on 15 January of the same year. Under this agreement, the Japanese side undertook to make the building of its former embassy in Berlin-Tiergarten available in renovated condition, the German side to provide the foundation capital, and both sides to bear the running costs in equal shares. The Land Berlin entered into the obligations of the Federal Government and paid the initial foundation capital of then 15 million DM. In spring 1985 the JDZB secretariat was able to...

A place of encounter for all who wish to engage in shaping Japanese-German relations, promoting dialogue and opinion-forming among its target groups.

1. 1Startseite | Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlinjdzb.de
2. 2Über Uns | Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlinjdzb.de
3. 3Über uns - Geschichte | Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlinjdzb.de
4. 4Japanese-German Center Berlinwikidata.org