February 2008

This year we will celebrate 150 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and the United Kingdom. As Director of JICC, I am very happy to outline how we intend to mark this anniversary with you.

On 26 August 1858 fully-fledged diplomatic relations between Japan and the United Kingdom were established as a result of the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce in Edo (the present-day Tokyo). The Treaty, which was part of an agreement encompassing five countries, had a number of features that were unfair to Japan. For instance, it did not allow Japan to stipulate the level of taxes levied on goods imported from the counterpart country, and citizens of that country were exempt from the Japanese judicial system. Therefore, accounts of the Treaty in Japan have tended to emphasise the efforts Japan made to have these points rectified. While these are historical facts, it is also true that the path to the revision of the Treaty reflected the extent to which our country was becoming integrated with the rest of the world after so many years of self-imposed seclusion. Moreover, there is no doubt that this document established the start of a bilateral relationship that has endured to the present day and that its establishment was one of the most important events to have occurred in the history of interaction between our two countries.

Generally speaking, the 150-year history of Japan-UK ties has seen approximately 100 good years and 50 difficult ones. In the early days Japan learned a great deal from the UK in such fields as railways, construction, science and technology. At the same time the Western world developed a fascination with Japan, as illustrated by the term Japonisme. Our amicable relations of the first 50 years or so reached their peak in the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, after which our friendship deteriorated steadily to the point where, sadly, we went to war with each other. In the 50 years following the war, the rift was gradually healed. The initial catalyst was the growth of dynamic economic ties between us. Now, with the 21st century under way, one might venture to suggest that Japan and the UK have forged a mature partnership in which we not only face similar problems but share a common vision in seeking solutions for them.

We hope to celebrate the 150th birthday of the Treaty with a number of events running from the beginning of September until the end of 2009. They will involve looking back at the past, discussing issues confronting us now and looking to the future of our ties. We hope to see events examining both our culture¡Çs traditional and contemporary aspects, symposia dealing with issues that affect the entire globe and seeking appropriate solutions, youth exchange programmes, activities promoting ties of friendship between the people of our two countries, and much more. We would like to see a celebration embracing every field, generation and region in the form of events taking place all over the UK which bring Japanese and British people together.