69 - UK-Japan 21st Century group

Summary

THE UK-JAPAN 21^st Century Group was established in 1984 as the UK-Japan 2000 Group at the joint recommendation of the British and Japanese prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Yasuhiro Nakasone. For over thirty years, it has been the most senior bilateral body acting in the sphere of UK-Japan relations and promoting dialogue and cooperation between the two countries.

At the time of its establishment, key players in both governments recognized the need for a non-governmental ‘track two’ forum that would bring together influential figures from the world of politics, diplomacy, business, academia and the media to address practical and challenging aspects of the UK-Japan relationship and to explore areas for future cooperation.

One model for the UK-Japan 2000 Group had been the Königswinter Conference that was established in 1950 with the aim of improving the troubled relationship between Germany and the UK. Its annual meetings, alternating between Germany and Britain, set a broad agenda for an uninhibited exchange of ideas. As Sir Richard Needham, a founder member of the Group would later recall:

…a Japanese-UK version of Königswinter was a real possibility. Britain's long and friendly relations with Japan had been destroyed by the War. Although there remained a residue of respect there was a much greater pool of distrust, disquiet and lack of understanding. Britain needed an ally to strengthen its industrial base and to bring fresh ideas and disciplines to the workplace. Japan needed a bridgehead for commercial expansion into the European Common Market.

With the support of Yukio Satoh, Japan's consul-general in London, who had established a Japan-US group of this sort and who was seeking to extend the model to the UK, the wheels were set in motion for the creation of the UK-Japan 2000 Group. The final prospectus was published on 20 January 1984 and the Group was officially launched in June 1984 on the occasion of the visit by Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone to London.

The prospectus set out its priorities as follows:

At all levels relations between Japan and the United Kingdom are cordial but not close. The depth of personal contact and mutual understanding enjoyed by Britain in her relations with other major partners does not match good relations between the two governments. There are clear historical, geographical and cultural reasons for this unsatisfactory state of affairs.