Foreign Minister’s Commendation – Lady Victoria Borwick and the Sakura Cherry Tree Project Committee

2023/1/31
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On 31 January 2023, Ambassador HAYASHI Hajime awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Lady Victoria Borwick, former Member of the House of Commons and former Deputy Mayor of London, together with the Sakura Cherry Tree Project Committee.

Lady Borwick was instrumental in establishing the Fukushima Garden in Holland Park and in the opening of Japan House London, both of which are located in her constituency, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council. She also played a central role as Vice-Chairman of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project Committee, which has greatly promoted UK-Japan relations by planting Japanese cherry trees across the UK.

The Sakura Cherry Tree Project Committee started its activities in 2016 as a private initiative and has since planted over 7,000 cherry trees, a symbol of Japan, across the UK. The project has made a significant contribution to strengthening the friendship between Japan and the UK.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Hayashi paid tribute to the project’s great contribution and expressed his hope that, with the cherry trees that would bloom across the UK, its indispensable role in the bilateral relationship would continue.

In response, Lady Borwick and Mr SANO Keisaku Sandy, representatives of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project Committee, expressed their appreciation to the people involved in the project and their determination to continue to plant cherry trees in the UK for strengthening the bilateral relationship.