Japan-UK Financial Networking Reception
2024/6/5
On 5 June, Ambassador HAYASHI Hajime hosted the Japan-UK Financial Networking Reception at the Embassy of Japan in the UK. This was the second time for such a gathering to take place, following the first one in May of last year. The aim of the event was to encourage exchange between a wide range of financial professionals in the public and private sectors, against the backdrop of growing momentum for further cooperation between Japan and the UK in the financial sector.
In the beginning of his opening remarks, Ambassador Hayashi firstly referred to the State Visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the UK planned in the last week of June by expressing his appreciation to the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation to host a banquet at the Guildhall for His Majesty the Emperor during the State Visit. Furthermore, he mentioned the visit of the Lord Mayor of the City of London to Japan at the end of May, citing the ties between Japan and the UK in the financial services sector and the cooperation between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of London. He mentioned that we were now witnessing the flourishing of a vibrant bilateral partnership between the UK and Japan, and stressed that such a strong partnership would give impetus to the efforts of the Government of Japan to shift ‘from savings to investment’ through stable asset formation by its citizens, noting that Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka had been assigned as Special Zones for Financial and Asset Management Businesses. He also drew the participants’ attention to Expo 2025 due to take place in Osaka and expressed his hope that, with the business climate in both Japan and the UK vastly improving, we would see increased investment and strengthened cooperation between Japanese and British companies in both directions.
Alderman Michael Mainelli, Lord Mayor of the City of London, then stated that the Japan-UK relationship was one of the utmost importance and, citing his theme of ‘Connect to Prosper’, emphasised our particularly strong links in the financial and professional services sector. As for the asset management field, he made the point that there was potential for further mutually beneficial growth in the ties between the UK, which has the second largest pool of assets under management in the world, and Japan, which is promoting itself as a ‘Leading Asset Management Center’. He also reported that during his visit to Japan he had met with the Governor of Tokyo, government officials and key figures from financial institutions, and had inspected the innovation support facilities of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Around 120 people took part in the reception, with guests including officials from the Bank of England and the City of London as well as representatives of financial institutions, professional service providers and industry groups operating in the UK.
In the beginning of his opening remarks, Ambassador Hayashi firstly referred to the State Visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the UK planned in the last week of June by expressing his appreciation to the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation to host a banquet at the Guildhall for His Majesty the Emperor during the State Visit. Furthermore, he mentioned the visit of the Lord Mayor of the City of London to Japan at the end of May, citing the ties between Japan and the UK in the financial services sector and the cooperation between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of London. He mentioned that we were now witnessing the flourishing of a vibrant bilateral partnership between the UK and Japan, and stressed that such a strong partnership would give impetus to the efforts of the Government of Japan to shift ‘from savings to investment’ through stable asset formation by its citizens, noting that Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka had been assigned as Special Zones for Financial and Asset Management Businesses. He also drew the participants’ attention to Expo 2025 due to take place in Osaka and expressed his hope that, with the business climate in both Japan and the UK vastly improving, we would see increased investment and strengthened cooperation between Japanese and British companies in both directions.
Alderman Michael Mainelli, Lord Mayor of the City of London, then stated that the Japan-UK relationship was one of the utmost importance and, citing his theme of ‘Connect to Prosper’, emphasised our particularly strong links in the financial and professional services sector. As for the asset management field, he made the point that there was potential for further mutually beneficial growth in the ties between the UK, which has the second largest pool of assets under management in the world, and Japan, which is promoting itself as a ‘Leading Asset Management Center’. He also reported that during his visit to Japan he had met with the Governor of Tokyo, government officials and key figures from financial institutions, and had inspected the innovation support facilities of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Around 120 people took part in the reception, with guests including officials from the Bank of England and the City of London as well as representatives of financial institutions, professional service providers and industry groups operating in the UK.
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