16th July 2019 Tokyo, Japan
As an Ambassador, I enjoy occasionally getting the chance to visit different regions of the UK, and find out more about their links with Japan. This week I was in East Anglia. I began in Cambridge, calling on Professor Mickey Adolphson, the Head of the Japanese Department in the University’s Faculty of Asian and Middle […]
11th October 2018 Tokyo, Japan
Japan is famous for its robots. You can eat at a Tokyo café where they entertain you, or stay at a hotel where they do the check-in. But one area where they really have a big role to play is in helping to care for Japan’s increasing army of elderly people. There are 70,000 people […]
18th June 2018 Tokyo, Japan
Your speech at the Queen’s Birthday Party is one of the big events of the year for most Ambassadors, in front of hundreds of VIPs and important embassy contacts. So, I suppose it was a bit brave to give up part of mine to a synthesised version of my voice, speaking random sentences written by […]
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21st May 2018 Tokyo, Japan
Japan is a country of matsuri or festivals, usually based around the changing seasons. The “Golden Week” holiday in May, when three public holidays mean that most Japanese take the whole week off, found us in the village of Otari in the Japanese Alps, for the Shionomichi (salt road) matsuri. Dressed as peasants, though I […]
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26th March 2018 Tokyo, Japan
You may have seen the 1996 Japanese movie Shall We Dance, about a “sarariman”, or office worker, who found meaning in his humdrum life by taking up ballroom dancing classes. It was one of the most popular Japanese films ever to reach an international audience. I was delighted that its star, Tamiyo Kusakari, and its director, […]
6th December 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Chubu, the region centred on Nagoya, may be only Japan’s third conurbation. But if it was a country it would be a member of G20. And Greater Nagoya, an industrial powerhouse, produces 1% of the entire world’s GDP. So, not surprisingly, business was a big focus of my recent visit, together with Sarah Wooton, our […]
1st December 2017 Tokyo, Japan
This month Japan will take on the chair of the UN Security Council, at the end of a distinguished two year term on the Council, where we have worked very closely together. This will be an opportunity for Japan and partners in the UN system to continue to maintain the pressure on the DPRK to […]
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3rd October 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Hosting the Tokyo launch of Peppa Pig last week made a nice change from giving speeches about Brexit and worrying about North Korean missile tests. The hugely popular British cartoon character which has been a favourite with children around the world, since its inception in 2004 has finally come to Japan. The Japanese with their […]
14th August 2017 Tokyo, Japan
This month Japan remembers the atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August). I travelled to both cities, together with many other ambassadors, for the commemoration ceremonies. They were solemn and moving events, with speeches by the Prime Minister and local dignitaries, “hibakusha” bombing victims, and children. In Hiroshima I sat […]
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3rd May 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Everyone knows that Japan is famous for its cherry blossoms or “Sakura”. The subtle delicacy of the individual blooms, which collectively add up to a soft mass of pink that daubs the country at this time of year, are very special. But non-Japanese may not be quite as familiar with the very important role that […]