[2] Johan Olofsson Bergenstierna [sv] was the first Swede to visit Japan, arriving on the island of Dejima in 1647.

[3] Following the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries in 1868, many Swedish explorers visited Japan.

[5] Japan has a Swedish protestant church and there have also been Swedish-Japanese marriages.

Many Swedes are students and work as artists or in Swedish gastronomy.

[6][7][8] In 1984, Sweden Hills was built in Hokkaido where it became a village with Swedish-style houses.