Japan–Lithuania relations the wake of the Nazi invasion. Up to 10,000 refugees were saved from this action. There is a significant close partnership between the city of Kuji and Klaipėda, established in 1989. Japan "de facto" re-recognized Lithuania on September 6, 1991 and a month later diplomatic relations were re-established between these countries. In 1997 the Embassy of Japan was established in Vilnius and in 1998 the Embassy of Lithuania was established in Tokyo. In March 2016, Japan and Lithuania agreed to cooperate on nuclear safety. In August 2016, Training Squadron vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force "Kashima", "Asagiri" and "Setoyuki"
Whaling in Japan there was halted in March 1945 when the islands were taken by US forces. By November 1945 the whaling stations received permission to reopen; however, most whaling ships had been commandeered by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and by the end of the war the factory ships and most of the whale catchers had been sunk. General Douglas MacArthur encouraged the surrendered Japan to continue whaling in order to provide a cheap source of meat to starving people (and millions of dollars in oil for the US and Europe). The Japanese whaling industry quickly recovered as MacArthur authorized two tankers to