Please accept my warmest wishes for the new year, together with my thanks to all of our members for their continued support of the British Market Council (BMC).
Last year was a new beginning for us as we reconvened BMC events after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19: in June, we held our Board of Directors meeting, general meeting and a social event at the residence of the British Ambassador to Japan; in September, we held a mini seminar and reception at British Hills in Fukushima Prefecture; in November, we held a business partnership seminar and reception with the dedicated support of the Japan Foreign Trade Council; and in December, we held a Christmas party at the HUB Akihabara branch. Since I assumed the role of Chairman in 2021, nine new companies have joined and one company has left, bringing the membership to 78 members at present. At these resumed receptions, there have been lively exchanges among the British Embassy, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other guests as our existing members reconvened after a long absence and were joined by new members.
We are continuing to carry out projects to support the British Embassy in Japan with everyone’s kind assistance. From April 2022 to March 2023, the BMC is supporting the Japan Business Express Service (BES) by the NPO Export to Japan. BES provides tailor-made support to UK companies looking to enter the Japanese market or export their products to Japan, at every stage of their entry into the Japanese market, from market research to finding a Japanese partner and setting up operations in Japan. There are already examples of contracts being concluded with Japanese companies. In October 2022, we supported the UK Pavilion's participation in CEATEC 2022, the largest IoT-related exhibition in Japan; at the end of the same month, we also provided full support to the UK-Japan Nuclear Industry Forum held at the Ambassador's residence. In addition, the BMC is planning to support the exhibition of UK food and beverage products at Foodex Japan 2023 in March.
The BMC will continue to contribute to the development of trade between the UK and Japan and the expansion of the UK-Japan partnership. We plan to be as active as possible in running the BMC and providing UK-related information going forward.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the BMC. It is thanks to the support of our members that we have been able to continue our activities and operations for half a century. We will continue to plan a variety of events this year so that more of you can join us.
We are grateful for the continued understanding, support, and encouragement of all BMC members and look forward to working with you this year.
Yoshihisa Suzuki
Chairman, British Market Council
