They have been joined by many of Japan’s most prestigious corporate names, including Sharp, Toyota, Kasai Kogyo and Yuasa Battery, and the manufacture of automotive components has grown into another buoyant sector. Today, there are 60 Japanese-owned companies with a presence in Wales. They provide around 6,200 jobs and make a large contribution to the Welsh economy, both directly and indirectly.
In 2018, Wales exported around £250million of goods to Japan, a 25% increase on the previous year. Welsh success in the Japanese market is down to providing high-quality goods and services across a wide range of sectors.
The traditional Welsh woollen fabrics of Melin Tregwynt, for example, have long been admired in Japan. The family firm is a supplier to prestigious Japanese brands, including the high-street chain Muji and the Kyoto furniture makers Takaokaya. Four Japanese companies are currently working with Hexigone, a manufacturer of chemically intelligent corrosion inhibitors based in Baglan, South Wales. Both businesses are participants in the September 2019 Welsh Government trade mission to Japan.
In addition, Japan was the third-highest provider of foreign direct investment in Wales in 2018–19, on par with France and Germany, and it’s one of our most important suppliers of inward investment. On average, Wales has seen seven investments from Japanese companies every year since the early 1980s.
Business partnerships have deepened the cultural relationship between our two nations. Japanese executives normally spend between three and five years in Wales, bringing their families with them – and as Hugh Thomas, Wales’ former Honorary Consul to Japan, has pointed out, “they could happily settle in Wales because its culture and tradition reminded them forcefully of home.”
Their children have been able to continue their Japanese education, thanks to a Saturday school in Cardiff that runs for 41 weeks of the year. It’s open to pupils aged between six and 18, and supported by the Welsh Government. On occasion, there have been further reminders of home, such as the visit of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to Cardiff Castle in 1998 for a recital by a full choir of harps. Empress Michiko – known to be a keen harpist herself – went home with a gift of Welsh harp music.
Several organisations have sprung up to strengthen and celebrate the cultural ties between Wales and Japan. Based in Tokyo, Cymdeithas Dewi Sant Siapan (St David’s Society Japan) has provided a focus for Welsh expats – and anyone interested in Wales, its language and its culture – since the early 1980s.
Whenever Wales and Japan clash on the rugby field, you may spot a select group of spectators wearing a distinctive tie featuring a daffodil and cherry blossom. It’s the emblem of Clwb Hiraeth, a society of Japanese senior managers who fondly recall their time working in Wales: the Welsh word hiraeth translates as “nostalgia for home”. To wear the tie is no small honour. Both the First Minister of Wales and the British Ambassador to Japan are club patrons.
And speaking of rugby, Wales’ national sport has blossomed in Japan over recent years. The 2019 Rugby World Cup is the first time the tournament has been held in Asia, but it’s building on a sporting heritage that stretches back a century and a half. The first rugby match played on Japanese soil is now thought to have taken place as long ago as 1866, when Yokohama Foot Ball Club was founded.
One Welsh export warrants a particular mention. In 2007, Shane Williams made his 50th international appearance when Wales faced Japan in the Rugby World Cup. Five years later, he accepted an offer to play and coach for the Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars, based in the Greater Tokyo Area. Williams went on to spend three years in Hashimoto with his family, becoming a popular and respected figure in Japanese rugby.
There are well-established exchange programmes between the universities and colleges of the two nations, allowing students and academics to share knowledge and experience a different educational culture. Cardiff University, for example, has active partnerships with 18 Japanese institutions, from Keio University School of Modern Languages to Tokyo University Medical School.
Above all, the relationship between our two nations is a dynamic one that is always developing. One recent initiative was the twinning of Conwy Castle in North Wales and Himeji Castle in Japan. The mayors of both towns signed a memorandum of understanding in Conwy, pledging to work together to promote the two ancient monuments – both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
It’s a fine example of how two nations with a rich and distinctive history are finding new ways of forging ever-closer business and cultural links.