2005 was a year which saw a significant enhancement of exchanges between Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) through the EU-Japan Year of People-to-People Exchanges. In the UK, ever since the "Oedo Exhibition" in 1981, large cultural festivals have been held every ten years, i.e., the "Japan Festival" in 1991 and "Japan 2001" in 2001. In particular, many events were held across the UK for "Japan 2001" in which the public were able to participate and experience Japanese culture. In keeping with this trend, people-to-people exchanges were carried out in the Year of Exchanges through various Japan-related events that were held around the country.

In July last year, a UK steering committee was set up in which 15 Japanese and UK organizations participated. The committee planned and made the arrangements for the implementation of the Year of Exchanges in the UK, as well as called upon the public at large and a wide range of groups to hold events. As a result, 219 events were held in the UK, of which 70% were grassroots activities. Furthermore, events held outside London made up two-thirds of all events. The events were greatly varied, ranging from traditional performing arts, including kabuki and Nihon buyo (Japanese classical dance), to pop music concerts, film screenings, lectures on literary works, a Japanese food festival, manga and anime exhibitions, business seminars, a speech contest in Japanese, school exchanges, and sports exchanges. In this way Japan-UK and Japan-EU exchanges were held all over the UK on a wide range of areas at the people-to-people level through the Year of Exchanges.

The history of Japan-UK exchanges can be traced back to the time when British seaman William Adams landed in Japan and served Tokugawa Ieyasu approximately 400 years ago. The EU-Japan Year of People-to-People Exchanges gave even greater impetus to Japan-UK cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The network developed through the Year of Exchanges can be expected to lead to the expansion of long-term exchanges in the years to come.