Japan-United Kingdom Relations
Japan-United Kingdom Relations (Basic Data)
May 13, 2025
Basic Data
Diplomatic Relations:
- Established in August 1858 with the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
Number of Japanese Residents in the UK:
- 64,066 (October 2024, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Consular Affairs Statistics)
Number of British Residents in Japan:
- 19,587 (June 2024, Statistics of Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice)
Trade with Japan (2024):
- Exports to the UK: 1.7 trillion yen (main articles: cars, power engines, car parts)
- Imports from the UK: 1.2 trillion yen (main articles: power engines, medical and pharmaceutical products, cars)
Direct Investment from Japan:
- 20.16 trillion yen (stock, as of 2023).
VIP Visits (since 2011)
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Minister for Foreign Affairs MATSUMOTO Takaaki (May) Minister for Postal Reform and Minister of State for Financial Services JIMI Shozaburo (Oct) |
| 2012 | Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications KAWABATA Tatsuo (May) Their Majesty The Emperor and Empress (May) Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology HIRANO Hirofumi (Jul) Minister for Foreign Affairs GEMBA Koichiro (Oct) |
| 2013 | Minister for Foreign Affairs KISHIDA Fumio (Apr) Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology SHIMOMURA Hakubun (May) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance ASO Taro (May) Prime Minister ABE Shinzo (Jun) Speaker of the House of Representatives IBUKI Bunmei (Sep) |
| 2014 | Prime Minister ABE Shinzo (Apr-May) Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization AMARI Akira (May) Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications SHINDO Yoshitaka (Jul) Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy YAMAMOTO Ichita (Jul) Minister in charge of "Cool Japan" Strategy / Minister of State for Regulatory Reform INADA Tomomi (Jul) Minister of Justice TANIGAKI Sazakazu (Jul) |
| 2015 | Minister for Foreign Affairs KISHIDA Fumio and Minister of Defense NAKATANI Gen (Jan) Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries HAYASHI Yoshimasa (May) Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Game ENDO Toshiaki (Oct) Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology HASE Hiroshi (Dec) |
| 2016 | Prime Minister ABE Shinzo (May) Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare SHIOZAKI Yasuhisa (Jun) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance ASO Taro (Jul) |
| 2017 | Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games MARUKAWA Tamayo (Jun) Prime Minister ABE Shinzo (Apr) Minister for Foreign Affairs KONO Taro and Minister of Defense ONODERA Itsunori (Dec) |
| 2018 | Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games SUZUKI Shunichi (May) Minister of State MATSUYAMA Masaji (May) Minister of Justice KAMIKAWA Yoko (May) Minister of State KAJIYAMA Hiroshi (Jul) Minister for Reconstruction YOSHINO Masayoshi (Sep) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance ASO Taro (Sep) |
| 2019 | Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games SAKURADA Yoshitaka (Jun) Prime Minister ABE Shinzo (Jan) |
| 2020 | Minister for Foreign Affairs MOTEGI Toshimitsu (Aug) |
| 2021 | Minister for Foreign Affairs MOTEGI Toshimitsu (May) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance ASO Taro (Jun) Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide (Jun) Minister for Environment KOIZUMI Shinjiro (Jul) Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio (Nov) Minister for Environment YAMAGUCHI Tsuyoshi (Nov) Minister for Foreign Affairs HAYASHI Yoshimasa (Dec) |
| 2022 | Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications KANEKO Yasushi (May)Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio (May) Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress (Sep) |
| 2023 | Minister of State for Special Missions OGURA Masanobu (Jan) Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio (Jan) Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro (Jan) Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess AKISHINO (May) Minister for Foreign Affairs HAYASHI Yoshimasa (Jun) Minister for the Environment NISHIMURA Akihiro (Aug) Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry NISHIMURA Yasutoshi (Sep) |
| 2024 | Minister of State for Special Missions SHINDO Yoshitaka (Jan) Minister for Digital Transformation KONO Taro (Jan) Minister of State for Special Missions SHINDO Yoshitaka (Apr) Minister of State for Special Missions JIMI Hanako (May) Their Majesty The Emperor and Empress (Jun) Minister for Reconstruction TSUCHIYA Shinako (Jul) Minister of Defense KIHARA Seiji (Jul) Minister of the Environment ITO Shintaro (Aug) |
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable (Jun) Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt (Aug-Sep) Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond (Sep) Secretary for State for Defence Philip Hammond (Oct) Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell (Dec) |
| 2012 | Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (Jan, Oct) Prime Minister David Cameron and Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt (Apr) Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell (Jul) Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening (Oct) |
| 2013 | Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt (Mar) Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change Edward Davey (May) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague (Oct) |
| 2014 | Lord Speaker Baroness D'Souza (Sep) |
| 2015 | H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge (Feb-Mar) Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow (Aug) |
| 2016 | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Phillip Hammond and Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon (Jan) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affair Phillip Hammond (Apr) Prime Minister David Cameron, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (May) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark (Jul, Oct, Dec) Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling (Sep) Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (Oct) |
| 2017 | Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox (May) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson (Jul) Prime Minister Theresa May (Aug-Sep) |
| 2018 | Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox (Aug) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt (Sep) |
| 2019 | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt (Apr) Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (Jun) Prime Minister Theresa May (Jun) Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss (Sep) H.R.H. The Princess Royal, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (Oct) H.R.H. The Duke of Sussex (Nov) |
| 2020 | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab (Feb) Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss (Oct) |
| 2021 | President for COP 26 Alok Sharma (Apr) Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace (Jul) |
| 2022 | Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Feb) Cabinet Office Minister Nigel Adams (Jul) Former Prime Minister Theresa May (Sep) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly (Sep) Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (Oct) |
| 2023 | Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace (Mar) Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps (Apr) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly (Apr) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride (Apr) Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (May) Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan (May) Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay (May) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (May) Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper (June) Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk (July) Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle (Sep) Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade, and Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch (Oct) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly (Nov) Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps (Nov) Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps (Dec) |
| 2024 | Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office Oliver Dowden (Mar) |
| 2025 | Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy, Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds (Mar) |
Other Exchanges
UK-Japan 21st Century Group
The UK-Japan 21st Century Group is an advisory group, established in 1985 as UK-Japan 2000 Group, to study Japan-UK cooperation, based on an agreement between then Prime Minister Nakasone and Prime Minister Thatcher. It is a custom that recommendations adopted through discussions at the meeting are submitted to the Prime Ministers of the two countries. The latest annual meeting was held in March 2024.