Many Japanese people may not be able to explain Serbia in detail, but they know Novak Djokovic.
In Japan, he is famous not only as one of the world’s greatest tennis players, but also because of his matches against Kei Nishikori.
In the 2014 US Open semifinals, Nishikori defeated Djokovic, who was then ranked No. 1 in the world, and became the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
It was one of the biggest moments in Japanese tennis history, and the man on the other side of the net was Serbian.
In that sense, Serbia is one of those countries that can feel familiar in Japan through a famous person before the country itself becomes familiar.
Football offers another especially strong example.
Dragan Stojković, known in Japan as “Pixy,” became one of the most memorable foreign players in J.League history.
He played brilliantly for Nagoya Grampus, won the J.League MVP award, and later returned as manager and led the club to its first J1 title.
He was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government, with his contribution to Japanese football and to friendship between Japan and Serbia cited among the reasons.
For people who have followed the J.League for a long time, it would not be unusual to think of Serbia as “the country of Pixy.”
NBA fans may also add Nikola Jokić to the list.
Put these names together, and something interesting becomes clear.
Knowledge of Serbia in Japan is a little uneven.
Djokovic and Pixy can be very familiar.
But when the subject changes to the streets of Belgrade, the Serbian language, or the food people eat at home, the image can suddenly become much less specific.
The parts people know can be strangely vivid.
That is one of the interesting things about how Serbia is seen from Japan.
Even the country name can be a little confusing.
Some people still remember the former name Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia, Slovenia, and Slovakia also sound similar in Japanese, and their flags all use red, blue, and white. For people who are not especially familiar with the region, the names and images can sometimes get mixed together.
Serbia is certainly not unknown in Japan.
But rather than being equally well known across many areas, certain people and certain fields tend to leave a much stronger impression than others.
There are also less obvious links between Japan and Serbia.
One of them is a fleet of 93 buses in Belgrade.
As part of post-conflict reconstruction assistance, Japan provided 93 buses for public transportation in Belgrade. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later noted that they became an important part of everyday transport for local residents.
The connection also went in the other direction.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Serbian government donated 50 million dinars to Japan.
Behind the familiarity created by figures such as Pixy and Djokovic, there is also a quieter history of exchange between the two countries.
Food is still a weaker entry point for Serbia in Japan.
But Serbian cuisine includes dishes such as ćevapi, grilled minced-meat pieces, and rakija, a fruit-based spirit widely associated with the Balkans.
Many Japanese people may still struggle to name a Serbian dish immediately.
That is part of the same pattern.
Serbia is known in Japan with very different levels of intensity.
There are people such as Djokovic and Pixy who are remembered extremely clearly, while the cities, food, language, and everyday life beyond them remain much less familiar.
For many Japanese people, Serbia is a country they may know only in parts — but some of those parts are remarkably vivid.
References
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, basic information on the Republic of Serbia and materials on Japanese assistance to Serbia
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, “Donation from the Republic of Serbia”
- J.League, materials related to Dragan Stojković
- US Open, official materials on Kei Nishikori vs. Novak Djokovic, 2014
- Serbian tourism-related official materials
