UK-Japan Tech Forum 2025: Event Round-up

22 Apr 2025 02:59 PM

The UK-Japan Tech Forum, co-organised by techUK and JEITA, is a platform for both the UK and Japanese tech sectors along with their respective governments to come together to explore collaboration opportunities in technology and innovation. This year, we heard from both the UK and Japanese Governments, highlighting the status of the relationship, key technologies shaping it and where the UK-Japan tech partnership could be deepened.

Summary:

Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK, opened the meeting by speaking about the recent developments in the UK-Japan tech partnership, his recent experience as part of an industry delegation to Tokyo for the bilateral Economic 2+2 meeting, and techUK and JEITAs joint statement released in January.

techUK’s and JEITA’s joint statement focuses on 7 key recommendations for both governments, including initiating ministerial dialogues, improving bilateral R&D activities, and cooperation on digital trade and data free flow with trust (DFFT). This was followed by an update from senior UK and Japanese Government (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Department for Science Innovation and Technology) representatives on the role of tech within the bi-lateral relationship. 

Both governments spoke about the importance of collaborating across the four pillars of the UK-Japan Digital Partnership, a ministerial-level framework which aims to enhance the digital technology collaboration between the two countries across AI, data flows, and  the development of bilateral Industrial Strategy Partnership.

They highlighted the importance of the regular ministerial meetings and the UK-Japan Tech Forum. Both governments also touched upon the inaugural UK-Japan Economic 2+2 dialogue where both the Foreign and Business Ministers of both the UK and Japan met in Toyko in March 2025. The meeting reaffirmed the governments respective support for the international rules-based trading systems, and detailed where deepening partnerships in economic security, clean energy, and the industrial strategy could be mutually beneficial. Both governments reflected that they were keen to hear from industry about how they would like an Industrial Strategy Partnership to look.

Regarding AI, recent conversations and frameworks have emphasised the similarity between the approach from both countries. The UK Government highlighted how the AI Opportunities Action Plan focuses on accelerating the adoption of safe and effective AI across all parts of the UKs landscape. The UK aims to scale up the UKs AI Research Resource by 20-fold by 2030, with Japan seen as a key partner in this journey. The Japanese Government’s Hiroshima AI Process is a comprehensive framework aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI development. Representatives mutually agreed on the need to continue collaboration between governments and industry to exploit future opportunities presented by AI.

Both nations reaffirmed their support for the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) initiative and will continue to collaborate on shared views on cross-border data transfers, privacy rules and data governance, through the Global Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Forum, other multilateral fora, and bilaterally through the UK-Japan data adequacy arrangements. Going forward, UK Government officials will continue discussions with the Japanese Government on digital trade, highlighted in the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in the upcoming months.

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