From English samurai to post-Brexit trade, the UK and Japan thrive when connected

From English samurai Miura Anjin to last year’s Hiroshima Accord, the UK and Japan have much to offer each other, writes Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli

Miura Anjin is one of Japan’s most well-known samurais. Born in 1564, his talents were endless: navigator, shipbuilding, gunnery, mathematics, geography, trade negotiation and trusted adviser to the Japanese Regent, Tokugawa Ieyasu. His skills were utilised to encourage traders around the world to visit Japan.

Miura Anjin was also an Englishman, from Kent, called William Adams, who became Japan’s first known western samurai and the only foreigner in Japan’s history to reach the level of hatamoto (a high-ranking adviser). His life was the inspiration for James Clavell’s classic 1975 work Shogun, which has recently been adapted to a well-revived TV series. 

More than 400 years after his death, Adams legacy unites us. Both the UK and Japan are island monarchies, with an attachment to tradition but with a history of innovation and an interest in international trade.

During my visit to Singapore and Japan this week I hope to build on these links and next month I’ll have the honour of hosting the Emperor of Japan during his state visit. Japan was the first country the UK signed a renegotiated trade deal with following Brexit which broke new ground in financial and digital services. Japan is our fourth largest trading partner and second largest non-EU investor into the UK economy, accounting for over £92bn of investment a year. 

Similarly, Singapore accounts for 40 per cent of the UK’s trade with Southeast Asia. Singaporean entities have a total of £226bn invested in the UK including both foreign direct investment and portfolio investment, making Singapore the third largest Asian investor in the UK.

Last year the UK secured the Hiroshima Accord on UK-Japan economic, security and tech collaboration. In 2017, the City Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tokyo which has helped the flow of business between Japan and the UK – particularly in asset management and fintech – and enhanced the relationship between our two financial services centres. This has included putting in place regular dialogues such as the annual Tokyo-London Financial Seminar and Tokyo-London Green Finance Seminar, and the regular working group between Canada Corporation, UK government and Tokyo Metropolitan government.

During my trip, I’ll be meeting with key groups and individuals to discuss areas for further collaboration between Japan and the UK – namely, asset management, fintech, and green and sustainable finance. This includes the governor Koike of Tokyo, the Tokyo Innovation Base, the Government Pension Investment Fund and space debris removal company Astroscale.

Just as Adams helped encourage foreign traders to go to Japan, I want to explore how the UK can be a key partner for Japan in its bid to turn dormant household savings into investments as being pushed by Prime Minister Kishida, who wants to spur competition in the country’s asset management industry.

Asset management is certainly an area where we can improve our interconnectedness. In the UK, asset owners and managers have access to a large market, world-class talent and a thriving professional services ecosystem.

Many large Japanese firms like Sumitomo and Nomura invest in UK asset managers, and our offer to global investors continues to go from strength to strength – a message we ’ve been promoting through our Global Investment Futures campaign. 

We’re the largest centre for asset management in Europe and second largest in the world accounting for 13 per cent of global assets under management, despite having just one per cent of the world population. 

This is a time of change and opportunity for both Japan and the UK in terms of asset management and pension reform. The Mansion House Reforms and the Mansion House Compact – which my predecessor, Nicholas Lyons, helped spearhead – are already unlocking capital from the UK’s largest defined contribution pension funds to invest in unlisted equities.

Now is the prime time to work together to unlock new opportunities for asset managers and investors in both our nations. 

Today, Japanese schoolchildren learn about Miura Anjin’s exploits, from a wretched prisoner condemned to crucifixion, to adviser to the Shogun and high-ranking hatamoto samurai. But they also learn about his role in connecting two island nations at opposite ends of the world. I hope my visit reinforces the deep connections between our two cultures so we can both thrive.