Imperial Couple’s U.K. Visit Reaffirms Nations’ Ties; Ambassador Reflects on Multifaceted Relationship

By Julia Longbottom / U.K. Ambassador to Japan

6:00 JST, July 12, 2024

A recent state visit by the Emperor and Empress to the United Kingdom strengthened ties between the two countries in a variety of fields. British Ambassador Julia Longbottom reflects on how this visit highlighted many aspects of the U.K.-Japan friendship in the following contribution to The Japan News.

A fortnight ago today, their Majesties the Emperor and Empress boarded a plane to return home from their state visit to the United Kingdom. The visit came at a time when, in the Emperor’s words, “bilateral relations have never been more robust.”

As the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Japan, it was an honor for me to be involved in a program that showcased the strength of our ties.

The state visit continued a tradition of respect and friendship between the families of the British and Japanese monarchs. The ceremonial welcome offered by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, with an honor guard and carriage procession down The Mall, followed by a private lunch at Buckingham Palace and a state banquet in the evening, is one reserved for the most honored of guests. King Charles appointed the Emperor to the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom. I was touched when the Emperor spoke of the warmth of the royal family and his admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Building on years of family ties, this state visit was a meeting of old friends.

The close connections between the United Kingdom and Japan extend beyond our monarchies. They encompass many sectors and organizations, including our businesses, stretching back to the dawn of the Meiji era in the late 1860s when our markets first encountered each other. Today some 1,000 Japanese firms employ 160,000 people in the United Kingdom, and British companies in Japan number almost 200. The banquet that the lord mayor of London hosted for the Emperor at Guildhall was a celebration of our long-standing trading relationship characterized by innovation and international standard-setting.

U.K.-Japan friendship also includes our pioneering scientists. In his speech at the state banquet, the Emperor spoke of British biologist John Gurdon’s cutting-edge research on stem cells, which paved the way for Shinya Yamanaka’s later development of induced pluripotent stem cells, and their joint Nobel Prize in 2012. At the Francis Crick Institute, the Emperor heard that a new generation of scientists is building on their research to understand the genetic basis of life-threatening infections. This is just one example of the collaboration between British and Japanese scientists helping to develop solutions to the problems affecting us all.

Our monarchs share a devotion to — and scientific interest in — nature and biodiversity. The Emperor heard about the work of the Millennium Seed Bank to conserve national floras and preserve seeds from around the world. As the Emperor said at the state banquet, “the seeds will be preserved long into the future as symbols of resilience and friendship between Japan and the U.K.”

I was struck by the Emperor’s focus on the importance of exchange between young people in the U.K. and Japan. At the Young V&A, the U.K.’s first national museum created with and for children, their Majesties’ faces lit up when they talked to children engaged in creative play. At the Royal College of Music, the Emperor took time to converse with students, putting them at ease with his knowledge of Mozart and enquiries about their work. The U.K.-Japan relationship has people at its heart — and its eyes turned firmly towards the future.

This was a meaningful visit for the Emperor and Empress, and a moving one for me. The product of years of deepening ties, in areas ranging from biodiversity and science to culture and education, it showcased the new era of U.K.-Japan relations. In the words of the Emperor, we are “friends like no other,” the closest of partners. The visit also gave me optimism for the future. I am confident that the U.K.-Japan relationship will continue to grow, through milestones like Expo 2025 and next year’s Carrier Strike Group visit to Japan, and through ever-closer friendship between our peoples.