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Ⅰ. Aim

According to its constitution, the aim of the BMC is to “contribute to establishing and maintaining sound and stable partnership and economic relations, including trade and investment, between the UK and Japan.”

Ⅱ. Activities

1. Activities for trade promotion

Since it was first set up in 1973, the BMC has been implementing various projects in order to promote imports from the UK as well as for Japanese industries wishing to set up operations in the UK. In 1988, the British Government started a campaign to promote exports to Japan called ‘Opportunity Japan’. The original aim of the campaign still continues today but under different slogans. In response to this export promotion campaign by the UK government, the BMC established a task force in 1988 (called Import Promotion Committee in 1998 and then the Trade Promotion Committee in 2003) to support the following activities:

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The expenses incurred for these activities are mainly subsidized by membership fees for the Trade Promotion Committee. For events considered to be especially meeting the target aims of the BMC, subsidies were provided by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and are currently by a few numbers of Foundations.

2. Activities promoting Anglo-Japanese partnerships and friendships among member companies

In order to promote partnerships between the two countries, the BMC holds the following events with the support of the British Embassy in Japan, as well as working its network to bring about other events for members:

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New Year party
A New Year party is held in end-January attended by approximately 150 members and guests.

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Trade Promotion Committee meetings
The meetings are held annually in the middle of April to discuss and decide which projects of the British Embassy are to be supported by BMC.

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Annual meeting and regular meeting at the British Embassy
The BMC annual meeting and regular meeting in June are held in the New Hall of the British Embassy, with reception for members and Embassy staff afterwards.

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Anglo-Japanese business partnership seminars hosted jointly by the British Embassy in Japan and the BMC
Since 1999 there have been fourteen annual seminars held jointly with the British Embassy at the British Hills (a British-style lodging and events hall in Fukushima). Since 2014 seminars are held in Tokyo for convenience of guests.

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Christmas party at English Pub HUB
At every year end, a party is held with approximately 70 people attending.

Ⅲ. Its History

In 1973, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (then known as the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) sent the first mission group to the UK to promote imports. The BMC was then set up as a private organization by members of the mission group. Taiichiro Matsuo, leader of the mission group, became Chairman, and remained in the position for 25 years. In July 1998, Shinroku Morohashi, Senior Corporate Advisor to Mitsubishi Corporation, became the new chairman until Shigeji Ueshima, Counselor to Mitsui & Co., Ltd., took over in June 2006.Kenji Miyahara, Honorary Adviser to Sumitomo Corporation, was Chairman since June 2011 and Teruo Asada, Chairman of the Board of Marubeni Corporation was Chairman since June 2015. In June 2021, Yoshihisa Suzuki, Vice Chairman, Member of the Board of Itochu Corporation became the 6th Chairman of BMC.

The British government first started promoting imports to Japan in 1988 with its Opportunity Japan campaign, followed by Priority Japan in April 1991, which ended successfully in March 1994. The Action Japan campaign then began in April 1994, continuing as New Action Japan after April 1998. The campaign changed its name to Trade Partners UK in May 2000, bringing all imports -promotion campaigns targeting foreign countries under one slogan. Preceding this in 1999, the British government had set up British Trade International. This merged in 2003 with the Investment Sector to become UK Trade & Investment.
GREAT 2012 Campaign has begun since 2012, which is to let people know strength of UK in various fields using such logo as “Fashion is GREAT Britain” “Make it in GREAT Britain” “Innovation is GREAT” and “Business is GREAT” etc. and to promote expansion of business opportunity. BMC is collaborating in this campaign.

Ⅳ. Recent Activities

The BMC conducted the following financial support to the projects by the British Embassy in fiscal year 2023 (April 2023-March 2024) :

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Project to support UK companies with innovative technologies to enter the Japanese market (ITIC-subsidised projects)
The Technology Trade Team of the Department for Business and Trade (formerly the Department for International Trade) at the British Embassy in Tokyo supports UK companies, including innovative technology start-ups, to enter, succeed and grow in the Japanese market by showcasing and introducing their technology and products, and by building partnerships with Japanese companies. As part of its activities, the Team has also participated in exhibitions of advanced technologies and products held in Japan. In October 2022, the UK Pavilion exhibited for the first time in four years at CEATEC 2022, Japan's largest Society 5.0 exhibition organised by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), and supported the participation of eight UK companies. The British Market Council also provided financial support for this exhibition.
In 2023, the Team exhibited at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2023 held at Pacifico Yokohama from 24-26 May.
The UK Tech Conference was also held at CEATEC 2023 from 17-20 October, with two conferences on 19 and 20 October on the themes of quantum computing and AI. Of these, the Foundation for the International Trade and Industrial Cooperation (ITIC) grant was used for the AI conference. The overall target for the project, including CEATEC 2023, was 260 output indicators (number of business meetings with Japanese companies realised) and 20 outcome indicators (number of contracts concluded through business meetings). In addition, the following four measures were taken to ensure successful business negotiations with Japanese companies.
(1) Formation of an ecosystem of Japanese and UK tech companies
(2) Reverse pitching
(3) Use of Japanese smart city research reports
(4) Creating and analysing a matrix of the technology sector
As a result of the project, the following outcomes were achieved.
181 actual against an output target of 260, and 10 actual against an outcome target of 20.
Secondmind, one of the UK companies speaking at the ITIC grant-funded AI seminar session, has received a total of USD 16 million in funding from new investors, including Mazda Motor Corporation. The company intends to expand its strategic partnership with Mazda Motor Corporation.

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The 7th UK-Japanese Nuclear Industries Forum
A networking reception was held at the residence of the British Ambassador to Japan in the evening of 24 October 2023, followed by the UK-Japan Nuclear Industry Forum on 25 October. This year, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the position of nuclear energy within the Japanese and UK governments has changed significantly from the perspective of energy security and economic security, and the intention to promote the development and commercialisation of safer, next-generation nuclear energy was discussed more actively than last year.
The first session reported on new nuclear construction and advanced nuclear technology, introducing a variety of technologies more than last year, and the current status of UK-Japan cooperation. Mr Yasuraoka, Director for International Affairs, Nuclear Energy Policy Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, explained Japan's energy policy, nuclear energy policy, the importance of energy security, nuclear energy utilisation, advanced technologies and UK-Japan cooperation in nuclear decommissioning.
Mr Mark Hastie-Oldland, Deputy Director, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, UK, explained the changes in UK nuclear policy, pointing out that nuclear is positioned as a tool for energy security and that a risk-sharing finance model will be pursued. Then, the UK National Nuclear Laboratory introduced cooperation between Japan and the UK on high-temperature gas reactors, the development of small modular reactors being promoted by Rolls-Royce, offshore nuclear power generation by CORE Power (in which member companies of the BMC has invested), flexible and safe small reactors from Molten FLEX and the UK Atomic Energy Authority on the development of UK fusion technology. It was explained that research and development is being carried out with the goal of commercialising fusion in the 2040s, as well as methods for decommissioning fusion reactors before the start of commercial operation. The UK's nuclear-powered electrolysis hydrogen production is expected to provide hydrogen at a competitive price.
The second session featured an introduction to exhibitors and METI exhibits and networking, while the third session addressed co-operation in decommissioning, radioactive waste management and supply chains between the UK and Japan, including progress on the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
105 participants, including 16 UK companies, 22 Japanese companies and government officials from both countries, attended the meeting, with UK companies commenting that it helped them to develop effective new contacts and that it provided an opportunity for very useful and timely discussions, with many actions to be followed up in the future.

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25th UK-Japan Business Partnership Seminar
On 30 October 2023, the 25th UK-Japanese Business Partnership Seminar (BPS) was jointly organised by the Japan Foreign Trade Association (JFTC), which is a member of the BMC, as a hybrid event in the JFTC conference room. Around 60 members and interested parties attended the event at the venue and online. The theme of the 25th Seminar was 'The potential for third country cooperation between the UK and Japan following the UK's participation in the CPTPP', following the UK's signing of a protocol on 16 July 2023 in New Zealand on joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Mr Yamagishi, Deputy Director, Economic Partnership Division, Trade Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, gave a presentation on 'Future UK-Japan cooperation' from a Japanese perspective, explaining the UK's accession procedures to the CPTPP, the benefits for the UK and Japan, the direction of UK-Japan cooperation and trends towards third country cooperation.
Mr Asai, Chief Executive Officer、Japan of Standard Chartered Bank, a member of the BMC, gave a presentation on financial cooperation in third countries, explaining the benefits of UK export credit, specific examples of financing projects in third countries using export credit from both countries, and areas for future cooperation between the two countries in supply chain diversification.
Finally, Ms Catherine Merryweather, Country Partner Manager, Department for Business and Trade, UK, gave an online presentation on UK-Japan collaboration from the UK perspective. She gave specific examples of third country collaboration between the UK and Japan in areas such as offshore wind power, smart cities, urban development and transport infrastructure, and explained how the UK and Japan could work together by making the most of their respective strengths. There was a lively Q&A session with each speaker, in particular discussing mechanisms for the creation of third country cooperation projects for the future expansion of cooperation.

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Export to Japan (E2J) Japan Business Express Service (BES) project
The Export to Japan (E2J) Japan Business Express Service (BES), which supports UK companies in a wide range of sectors at every stage of their entry into the Japanese market, from market research to finding a Japanese partner and setting up operations in Japan, was supported by the ITIC grant last year. The ITIC grant was used to support the BES, which achieved significant results last year. This year, the Trade Promotion Group continued to provide support. Compared to 38 cases dealt with in FY2022, 214 cases were dealt with this year, symbolising the growing interest of UK companies in the Japanese market. The top three sectors of UK companies that responded were food and beverage (21% of the total), technology services and solutions provision (21%) and consumer, clothing and household goods (17%), with other sectors including healthcare and medical, mobility related, manufacturing, education and training, jewellery, pet supplies, arts and hobbies and sporting events, energy and chemicals, etc. are very diverse. Services provided included researching, introducing and brokering partners in Japan, researching, introducing and brokering distributors, market research and business opportunity analysis.

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WIND EXPO 2024
The British Embassy in Japan and the Scottish Development International exhibited at WIND EXPO Spring 2024, held at Tokyo Big Sight from 28 February to 1 March 2024, in the UK Pavilion and Scottish Pavilion respectively, where 15 UK companies and 12 Scottish companies from the UK and Scotland exhibited. Offshore wind power-related companies exhibited and held business talks. In order to facilitate efficient business discussions, a UK Offshore Wind Business Online Seminar was held a week earlier on 21 February and a Scottish Offshore Wind Business Online Seminar on 22 February, where 15 UK and 12 Scottish companies gave presentations (pitches) on their technologies, and on 27 February, a British Embassy in Tokyo hosted a UK Offshore Wind Panel Discussion event. In the panel discussion, 27 UK and Scottish exhibitors took to the stage in turn to answer questions from the moderator on (i) support organisations and development, (ii) design and engineering, (iii) power cables, subsea and undersea power transmission, (iv) marine, construction, O&M support and solutions, with each company answering questions from the moderator. The companies answered the moderator's questions and explained how their knowledge and experience of European offshore wind power could be applied to development in Japan, taking into account factors such as Japanese geology and earthquakes.
There are differences from last year in the way UK companies think about and engage with the Japanese market, with four companies having larger individual stand styles at the exhibition than last year, meeting with ClassNK and seeking advice on partnerships with Japanese companies, which is considered a significant step forward from last year. The BMC supported the development of the UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Guide, which brings together offshore wind power supply chain companies in the UK and Scotland by stage in the life cycle of an offshore wind farm: survey and FS, development, wind turbines, auxiliaries, installation and completion, and O&M (UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Brochure). The response to the Japanese-English guidebook has been so strong that translations into Chinese and Korean have also been initiated.

V. Annual membership fee

1. Ordinary membership: 150,000 yen
2. Trade Promotion Committee membership: 500,000 yen extra

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