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Japan

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Last reviewed: 17 October 2008

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Japan is increasingly active in international diplomacy, and is a reliable and constructive partner on a wide range of issues including Iraq, the Middle East Peace Process, Afghanistan, and in counter-proliferation and the fight against terrorism. Since 11 September 2001 Japan has provided welcome political, economic and logistical support to the international coalition against terrorism and has extended strong civil and military support to reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Japan held the G8 Presidency this year with Fukuda hosting the Summit in Hokkaido from 7-9 July.  The Summit focussed on food and oil prices, the world economy, climate change and development.

Japan's Relations with the US

The US remains Japan's principal foreign policy and economic partner and the security relationship is central to Japan's defence policy. Under Koizumi, Japan took on a more active role in the security relationship. Japanese support for the war on terrorism, along with the absence of major trade frictions, has contributed to a warming of relations.

Japan's Relations with China

Japan normalised relations with China in 1972 and the two countries have strong and growing economic links. But there is also considerable friction in the relationship. Japan worries about the growth in China's defence spending, and competition from Chinese exports to certain sectors in Japan. In China, there are still bitter memories of Japanese actions there in the pre-1945 period. These came to the fore when Koizumi made several visits to the Yasukuni Shrine that honours Japan's war dead. Relations recovered under Prime Minister Abe. This improvement continued under Fukuda, who visited China on 27 -30 December 2007 and hosted a return visit by Prsident Hu Jintao on 6 - 10 May 2008. The length of these visits reflects the warming of relations.

Japan's Relations with South Korea

Japan's relations with South Korea remain soured by memories of Japanese actions on the peninsula. Relations with the South were normalised under the Basic Treaty in 1965 and had shown signs of warming after President Kim Dae-jung, during his visit to Japan in September 1998, stated publicly that the relationship should look forwards, not back. President Roh Moo-hyun visited Japan for a regular summit meeting in June 2003 but, after he clashed with Prime Minister Koizumi over a variety of what he saw as “inappropriate” Japanese actions (including visits to Yasukuni), these Summits were suspended. But relations improved after Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Seoul in October 2006. They continued to improve under Fukuda and the new South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak, with the two leaders already meeting twice and agreeing to resume regular Summit meetings.

Japan's Relations with North Korea

Japan has never had diplomatic relations with the DPRK, and the situation between the two nations remains tense. Then Prime Minister Koizumi's bold initiative to visit Pyongyang and meet with Kim Jong II on 17 September 2002 was supposed to pave the way for normalisation of relations. But Kim’s admission that the DPRK had abducted several Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, with eight having died there and only the five survivors allowed to return to Japan, shocked the Japanese people. The Japanese Government responded by cutting the humanitarian aid that it had provided to the DPRK. This temporarily resumed around May 2004 when Prime Minister Koizumi made his second visit to Pyongyang and secured the release of the surviving abductees’ immediate families. However, continued suspicions about the fate of the deceased abductees and other Japanese who have gone missing, as well as Japan's security concerns over the DPRK's nuclear and missile programmes still stand in the way of a normalisation of relations. Japan is a participant in the Six-Party Talks, which address the North Korean nuclear issue.

Japan's Relations with Asia

The Japanese economy is by far the largest in Asia. Japan made a major contribution to help South-east Asian countries affected by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Japan is by far the largest investor and bilateral aid donor in the ASEAN region.

Terrorism

Twenty-four Japanese citizens died in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. The Japanese reaction was swift. Prime Minister Koizumi presented a package of measures to the Diet that included humanitarian assistance for the countries near Afghanistan and logistical support from the Self Defence Forces for US and other forces involved.

Aid

Japan was the world's largest single aid donor in absolute terms for several years. It has reduced its aid budget in recent years, due to economic difficulties and  is now fifth (behind the US, UK, France and Germany). Until recently most aid went to Asia and the Pacific, particularly China, and ASEAN states. But Africa is now the main recipient with Japan’s growing interest in the continent being reflected in its hosting of four international conferences on development there, the latest on 28-30 May 2008.  

Japan relations with the UK

The British Ambassador to Japan, David Warren arrived in Tokyo in July 2008. As well as the Embassy/Consulate-General in Tokyo, Britain also has a Consulate General in Osaka.

His Excellency Shin Ebihara became Japanese Ambassador to Britain in May 2008. Japan also has a Consulate-General in Edinburgh.

Recent Visits

The scope of the bilateral relationship, both governmental and non-governmental, has expanded greatly in recent years. The Emperor and Empress came to the UK on a State Visit in 1998 and the Crown Prince (who studied at Oxford) visited in May 2001. Former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda visited the UK in June 2008. He held a meeting with the Prime Minister which focussed on oil and food prices, climate change and international development.

There have been a number of Ministerial visits to Japan in 2008 for G8 related meetings including one by the Prime Minister to attend the G8 Summit in July.  There have also been visits by the Chancellor Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Environment Hillary Benn and International Development Minister Gareth Thomas.  The Foreign Secretary visited Japan in June 2008 where he attended the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting and participated in a number of climate change related events.  Lord Malloch-Brown, Foreign Office Minister for Asia, visited Japan in January 2008.  

Cultural links

There are strong cultural and educational links between the two countries. Around 100 British cultural organisations – theatres, museums, orchestras – have links with Japan. 52,000 Japanese students study in the UK each year – both on full-time and short-term courses. And about 55,000 Japanese live in Britain (the third-largest Japanese community overseas), while approximately 20,000 British people live in Japan.

JET Programme

The JET Programme is a government-to-government programme between Japan and 37 countries worldwide. It brings young overseas graduates to teach in Japanese schools and local communities in order to foster international exchange and aid foreign language proficiency. The UK was one of the first countries to participate in the Programme. There are 440 British JETs in Japan at present.

JET Programme

Youth Exchange Scheme

Following agreement by Prime Ministers Blair and Mori in summer 2000, the UK-Japan Youth Exchange Scheme began in April 2001. It provides opportunities for young British people between the ages of 18 and 25 to spend up to a year in Japan and vice-versa. During their stay, participants in either country can take work incidental to their holiday in order to supplement their travel funds. A special visa is issued to successful applicants. British applicants should contact the Japanese Embassy in London or British Embassy in Japan (see 'Diplomatic Representation' for contact details above).

Volunteer Visas

The Japanese government introduced a new category into their visa regulations in May 2003. This will allow young people working for voluntary organisations to travel on a volunteer visa. The new visa was launched on 1 May 2003.

Far East Prisoners of War

The British Government announced on 7 November 2000 that a single ex-gratia payment of £10,000 would be made to surviving members of the British groups held prisoner by the Japanese during the Second World War or, if they had died, their surviving spouses. Details can be obtained from the War Pensions Agency website. Both the British and Japanese Governments regard the question of official compensation as having been settled under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, and support reconciliation as the way ahead.

Energy and Environment

Energy Security has been a core goal of Japanese domestic and foreign policy. As a nation that imports 99% of its huge fossil fuel requirements, Japan is particularly vulnerable to external shocks. This vulnerability lies behind the vigour with which Japan has pursued a nuclear programme, investing huge sums in the pursuit of the nuclear fuel cycle. Although Japan currently produces 35% of its electricity in nuclear plants, recent safety scandals and demand concerns (Japanese electricity demand is forecast to peak within 20 years) mean that this programme may not expand much further. Japan has also invested tremendously in the pursuit of 'new energies', and is a world leader in solar, hybrid car and fuel cell technologies. These technologies, as well as nuclear power and Japan's impressive level of energy efficiency, lie at the heart of the country's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. However, attached though it is to the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is currently slipping behind its targets and is considering what further policies to implement. Japan's own natural environment, while diverse and often exceptionally beautiful, has suffered from the pressures of population density and expansive infrastructure investment.

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Contacts

Japan, Tokyo, British Embassy

Address:

No 1 Ichiban-cho
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-8381

Telephone:

(+81) (3) 5211-1100

Fax:

(+81) (3) 5275-3164

Office hours:

Office hours, Monday-Friday:
09:00-12:30 / 14:00-17:30 (Local time)
00:00-03:30 / 05:00-09:00 (GMT)

Website: http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/

Japan, Tokyo, British Embassy - Office of the Cultural Attache


Japan, Osaka, British Consulate-General


Japan, Tokyo, British Consulate-General


Japan, Tokyo, British Council