Relationship dossier
Bulgaria
Japan
Relationship assessment
Bulgaria and Japan maintain a strategic partnership with development and technical cooperation.
Bulgaria toward Japan
+35Bulgaria joined Japan in elevating bilateral ties to a strategic partnership in 2018 and has pursued cooperation through bilateral and international engagement.
Japan toward Bulgaria
+35Japan elevated ties with Bulgaria to a strategic partnership in 2018 and has provided development and technical assistance to Bulgaria.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is structured around a strategic partnership established in 2018 and includes development and technical cooperation. These arrangements indicate sustained cooperative intent, although the scope of specific initiatives is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bulgaria and Japan maintain a cooperative relationship, elevated to a strategic partnership during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s 2018 visit to Bulgaria. The governments have pursued bilateral cooperation, including Japanese development and technical assistance. The known partnership supports a positive assessment, though the scope and continuity of specific joint initiatives are not clear.
Key developments
During Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Bulgaria, the two governments elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation initiatives are unclear.
- The extent of recent Bulgarian and Japanese government cooperation beyond the strategic partnership is uncertain.