While much of Hungary’s recent foreign-policy attention has focused closer to home, its relationships across Asia have continued to develop in parallel. China and South Korea have become increasingly visible through major investment projects, particularly in electric vehicles, batteries and manufacturing. Meanwhile, Japan, one of Hungary’s longest-standing Asian partners, has remained a quieter presence.
Written by Kate Berbano
Earlier this month, Japan and the Visegrád Four held their first foreign ministers’ meeting in five years near Bratislava, Slovakia. Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán joined her Czech, Polish and Slovak counterparts in talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Their discussions centered on science and technology, artificial intelligence, economic security and connectivity.
Still, Japan’s role in Hungary has continued to evolve. The Japan External Trade Organization’s Budapest office, or JETRO Budapest, and historian Dr. Umemura Yuko provide different perspectives on what has changed, and where the relationship may be heading next.
A relationship built before the boom
Hungary’s relationship with Japan reaches much further back than the current expansion of Asian investment in Central Europe. According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their formal ties stretch back to 1869, while diplomatic relations were restored in 1959 after the disruption caused by the Second World War and the Cold War. Japan later supported Hungary during its transition towards democracy and a market economy, while Japanese companies were among the early foreign investors to establish operations in the country.
For historian Dr. Umemura Yuko, that longer history still matters. “Among Asian countries, Hungary has the longest history of exchanges with Japan, so that tradition already exists,” she said in written responses translated from Japanese.
Umemura also pointed to periods of close cultural ties before the Second World War, saying that this background still contributes to a sense of familiarity between the two countries.
Daily News Hungary has followed that relationship before. In a 2024 interview with Japanese Ambassador Hikariko Ono, the ambassador highlighted Japan’s long-standing economic presence in Hungary and emphasised areas such as digital transformation, green technologies and start-ups as possible directions for deeper cooperation.
Two years later, Japan’s presence is already well established. The question now is what that presence looks like in its next phase.
Japanese investment is changing in character
According to JETRO Budapest, around 195 Japanese-affiliated companies currently operate in Hungary, employing approximately 30,000 people. Around 53 are manufacturers, while others are active in trading, logistics, IT and business services. Many long-established firms, including Suzuki, Denso and Ibiden, have become closely integrated into Hungarian and European supply chains.
JETRO sees the bigger change in the way Japanese companies are investing today. “The most significant change is not necessarily the sectors in which Japanese companies operate, but the way they invest.”
During the 1990s and 2000s, Japanese investment in Hungary was often associated with large greenfield manufacturing projects aimed at supplying European markets. More recent investment, according to JETRO, has increasingly centred on expanding existing operations and strengthening companies’ positions within European value chains.
One recent example is Hodogaya Chemical’s acquisition of Framochem in Kazincbarcika, which JETRO points to as part of a bigger move towards building on existing operations rather than starting from scratch. That type of investment attracts less attention than a newly announced multibillion-euro factory, but it reflects a relationship that has moved beyond its first stage.
China and South Korea move to the forefront
Japan’s lower profile also reflects the growing weight of China and South Korea in Hungary. Daily News Hungary’s recent interview with China’s ambassador explored its expanding ambitions in areas including robotics and artificial intelligence, while South Korean Ambassador Chul-min Park told DNH in June that Hungary was developing from an investment destination into a partner in innovation and research.
Umemura sees Japan’s quieter profile partly through that economic change. “Japan is gradually becoming unable to compete with China’s growth and economic strength, so I think it is only natural that Chinese expansion into Hungary is now much greater than Japan’s,” she said. She added that “Japanese manufacturing is no longer as active in expanding overseas as it was in the past.”
At the same time, she does not see the broader relationship as weakening. She pointed to the continued popularity of Japanese studies, manga, anime and Japanese food in Hungary, noting that the university department where she taught remained highly popular.
Less about volume, more about quality
Looking ahead, JETRO Budapest expects Japan-Hungary economic relations to be shaped “less by volume and more by quality.”
“In addition to traditional investment projects, we see growing opportunities for collaboration between companies, universities, research institutes, startups and business support organizations in both countries.”
Umemura also sees an imbalance in how well the two countries know each other. “When it comes to Hungary in Japan, there is still far too little information and knowledge,” she said. For JETRO, the next stage is similarly about widening those connections: “Ultimately, the greatest potential lies not only in new investment projects, but also in creating more connections between Japanese and Hungarian companies, institutions and entrepreneurs.”
China and South Korea may command more of the newest investment headlines, but Japan’s place in Hungary now rests on something harder to build quickly: depth.
