Policy paper

Memorandum of cooperation between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Japan on people-to-people exchanges

Published 10 November 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter referred to as the “UK”) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Japan (hereinafter referred to individually as a “Participant” and collectively as the “Participants”);

Recalling that the UK-Japan relationship has at its heart shared values, culture and people-to-people connections which support mutual understanding;

Recognising that strong and sustainable connections and exchanges between our institutions, peoples and businesses are critical to our ability to address shared challenges and harness opportunities;

Desiring to build on the enhanced global strategic partnership between the UK and Japan as outlined in the Hiroshima Accord: an Enhanced UK-Japan Global Strategic Partnership and deliver on its commitment to ‘revitalise our people-to-people exchanges’;

Have reached the following recognition.

Paragraph 1 : Purpose

1. The purpose of this Memorandum of Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the “MoC”) is to further develop mutual friendship and cooperation between the UK and Japan through enhancing the people-to-people connections between the 2 countries.

Paragraph 2: Areas of cooperation

Expanding exchanges

1. The Participants will foster new ties between the young people of the 2 countries - the future of the bilateral relationship - and enhance youth and student mobility between the 2 countries. To that end, the Participants will increase to 6,000 the numbers who can access the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme and Japan’s Working Holiday Programme respectively. The Participants will also celebrate and amplify the range of exchanges, scholarships and other programmes that give young people the opportunities to live, study and work in our respective countries; from Government-run initiatives like the Chevening Scholarship, the JET Programme, MEXT Scholarships and Turing Scheme to independent programmes run by private and non-profit entities. This includes providing information on accessing these schemes on the websites of British Council in Japan and the Embassy of Japan in the UK.

2. The Participants will encourage collaboration and promote dialogue among UK and Japanese businesses to enhance the exchange of information, best practice and personnel that help create shared prosperity and increase trade and investment. To that end, the Participants will work with companies and industry groups to establish and promote such exchanges between UK and Japanese businesses and institutions through new and existing platforms.

3. The Participants will continue to support and welcome the exchanges between the intellectual communities of the 2 countries, including through fora like the UK-Japan 21st Century Group that promotes dialogue and provide cross-cutting perspectives to complex issues the UK and Japan are facing.

Education and skills for a resilient and innovative future

4. The Participants will share best practice around education and exchanges so that the skills the 2 countries need to tackle global challenges and secure a sustainable and resilient future can be grown. These themes are well aligned with the ambition to design future society for our lives of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and the UK’s presence at the Expo will also create the platform for, and a lasting legacy of, even deeper bilateral connections and exchanges. The Participants will also make efforts to promote dialogue between our higher education systems, encouraging even greater academic cooperation and mobility between the students, early career researchers and academics of each country and inter university exchange programs.

5. The participants will encourage efforts to support collaboration between researchers and innovators on advanced science and technologies that contribute to addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time, such as the International Science Partnerships Fund and the ASPIRE programme. The Participants will also collaborate on delivering the cyber leaders of the future through initiatives like the Japan Cyber Security Fellowship and piloting the Cyber First Competition in Japanese schools. Bearing in mind the role start-ups play in delivering transformative innovation and solutions, the Participants will redouble efforts to deepen connections between our innovation ecosystems, including through supporting exchanges between the relevant government bodies and creating opportunities for UK and Japanese start-ups and technology investors to build connections in the respective markets.

6. The Participants will promote the work of the British Council and the Japan Foundation in language teaching and assessment as well as cultural exchange to equip the young people of the 2 countries with the skills and mutual understanding that underpin people-to-people exchange and realise the long-term potential of the bilateral relationship.

7. The Participants welcome the development of a sustainable urban development partnership, recognising that this will share best practice on creating places that are resilient and future-proofed for the shared challenges (such as climate change, digitalisation, and ageing populations), and on building the right skills within the governments of the 2 countries at all levels to tackle these challenges.

Boosting culture, tourism and sports connections

8. The Participants will make efforts to grow the thriving bilateral tourism links with the aim of increasing the volume, value and regional dispersal of tourism. The Participants will continue to amplify the work of individuals and groups carrying out exchanges and connections through sport, including those that promote health and diversity and inclusion.

9. The Participants recognise the contribution of the arts, cultural and creative industries to enrich society and the value of the creative connections between artists, arts professionals and cultural organisations in enhancing that contribution. With that in mind, the Participants will promote exchange through cultural institutions, including the British Council, the Japan Foundation and Japan House London, as a resource for building trust, mutual understanding and strong people-to-people links. Further, the Participants will support cultural programmes building on the success of the 2019 to 2021 the UK-Japan Season of Culture that explore shared values, address shared challenges, and create opportunities for audiences to engage with art from both countries.

Working together at all levels

10. Building on existing close links between local authorities in the UK and Japan, including numerous sister city and other agreements, the Participants will encourage and celebrate further strengthening of connections at sub-national level.

11. The Participants will continue to collaborate within international fora such as UNESCO and other relevant bodies on issues related to people-connections like culture and education, defending shared values and principles as well as championing education and culture in the 2 countries and globally.

12. The Participants will foster deeper mutual understanding and strengthen our institutional partnership by promoting and facilitating regular exchange between executive agencies and public bodies. This includes re-launching a programme of secondments between the Participants and encouraging exchanges between other Government Departments. The participants also recognise the role of our alumni and their networks in promoting partnership at every level.

Paragraph 3: Implementation and governance

1. The Participants intend to implement the MoC through existing channels of engagement, bringing in relevant senior officials and experts as needed and where relevant.

2. The Participants will oversee the implementation of the MoC using relevant channels, including ministerial engagements.

3. Any dispute arising out of the implementation of this MoC will be settled amicably through consultation between the Participants.

Paragraph 4: Commencement, duration, modification and discontinuation

1. This MoC is not legally binding and does not give rise to any rights or obligations under domestic or international law, nor does it preclude any new areas of cooperation as identified by the Participants.

2. This MoC will commence on the date of its signature by the Participants. Each Participant may discontinue this MoC by giving written notice to the other Participant of the intention to discontinue three (3) months in advance.

3. This MoC may be modified at any time in writing by mutual consent of the Participants. Such modification will commence on the date mutually determined by the Participants and form an integral part of this MoC.

4. The discontinuation of this MoC will not affect the ongoing collaboration activities unless otherwise decided by the Participants.

The foregoing represents the recognitions reached between the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on the matters referred to therein.

Signed in Tokyo, Japan on 7 November 2023, in 2 originals in English, both copies having equal value.

For the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: James Cleverly MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs