Japanese–Kosovar relations are foreign relations between Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and the Republic of Kosovo

Republic of Kosovo

Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...

. Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 declared its independence

2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...

 from Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 in 17 February 2008 and Japan recognised

International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by the Assembly of Kosovo with a unanimous quorum. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings...

 it in 18 March 2008. In June 2009, Japan assigned a resident ambassador to Kosovo. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on February 25, 2009.

Visits

Japanese Foreign Minister Yōhei Kōno

Yohei Kono

is a Japanese politician and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election...

 was the first Japanese official to visit Kosovo, with said visit taking place in 1999. In 2004, Kosovar Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi

Bajram Rexhepi

Bajram Rexhepi is a politician. He is currently Interior Minister of the Republic of Kosovo and a member of the Kosovo Assembly. He was also the first elected post-war Prime Minister of Kosovo...

visited Japan.