Address from Consul General Takaoka: Fourth meeting of Cross Party Group on Japan at the Scottish Parliament
2020/1/30
Thank you very much Mr. Lockhart for giving me this precious opportunity to reflect upon the fruitful year of 2019 in Japan - Scotland relations together with the distinguished members of the cross-party group.
As you might suspect from my attire today, I am heading to the Burns Supper which will start shortly in this same building, so please address any questions which might arise to my deputy Mrs. Fujimoto.
You may have already heard this from me, but the year of 2019 was a very important year for Japan with the enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor and the start of the era of Reiwa which means "Beautiful Harmony".
At the last meeting of this Group in September, we listened to the excellent presentation given by Mr. Patrick Hughes of Seafood Scotland and Mr. David Whiteford of the Scottish Rugby Union. I guess I don’t have to revisit the result of the Rugby World Cup, but I was so glad that so many Scottish fans including your friends and maybe yourselves made it out to Japan and enjoyed not just exciting matches but Japanese culture first-hand.
As for salmon, exports to Japan increased by staggering 71.8% between October 2018 and October 2019. I am sure that the reduction of the tariff rate from 3.5% to 2.9% in the case of raw salmon and down to 0% in the case of frozen salmon was a big factor. This reduction was realized by the Japan EU Economic Partnership Agreement which entered into force in February last year.
Another contribution to the salmon exports was made by Ms. Fiona Hyslop’s visit to Japan. While in Japan, the Cabinet Secretary not just cheered for the Scottish national team, but also endorsed a major contract between the Scottish Salmon Company and Genki Sushi which runs more than 140 sushi restaurants in Japan. I have heard that the high-quality Scottish salmon is better suited for sushi compared with salmon from the N-word country. In addition, Whisky exports to Japan, ten times larger than salmon exports in terms of value, also increased by hefty 20.9%.
Therefore, we can conclude that Scottish salmon and whisky were the main driving forces to realize a healthy 7.6% increase of annual UK exports last year. These statistics must have given so much relief to the Westminster as International Trade Minister Liz Truss boasted of this good performance during her visit to Japan in December.
Needless to say, the year 2020 will be a crucial year for the United Kingdom and Scotland in the making of relations with their international partners. This week, I participated in a useful meeting of CBI Scotland. The right honourable Nicola Sturgeon and Trade Minister Ivan Mckee declared that Scotland will aim to increase exports in the next ten years and identified the Next 11, a list of promising destination countries of Scottish products, in which Japan was at the top.
Given the mutually beneficial relations between Japan and Scotland, as I have stated, it is obvious that a close coordination between us will bring further benefits to all the parties concerned. I would like to strongly suggest that this Cross-Party Group on Japan could play a decisive role in that process.
In order to justify that prospect, I would like to ask Ms. Fujimoto to quickly review the achievements that has been made in 2019. So, let me excuse myself and pass the baton to her. Thank you very much.
As you might suspect from my attire today, I am heading to the Burns Supper which will start shortly in this same building, so please address any questions which might arise to my deputy Mrs. Fujimoto.
You may have already heard this from me, but the year of 2019 was a very important year for Japan with the enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor and the start of the era of Reiwa which means "Beautiful Harmony".
At the last meeting of this Group in September, we listened to the excellent presentation given by Mr. Patrick Hughes of Seafood Scotland and Mr. David Whiteford of the Scottish Rugby Union. I guess I don’t have to revisit the result of the Rugby World Cup, but I was so glad that so many Scottish fans including your friends and maybe yourselves made it out to Japan and enjoyed not just exciting matches but Japanese culture first-hand.
As for salmon, exports to Japan increased by staggering 71.8% between October 2018 and October 2019. I am sure that the reduction of the tariff rate from 3.5% to 2.9% in the case of raw salmon and down to 0% in the case of frozen salmon was a big factor. This reduction was realized by the Japan EU Economic Partnership Agreement which entered into force in February last year.
Another contribution to the salmon exports was made by Ms. Fiona Hyslop’s visit to Japan. While in Japan, the Cabinet Secretary not just cheered for the Scottish national team, but also endorsed a major contract between the Scottish Salmon Company and Genki Sushi which runs more than 140 sushi restaurants in Japan. I have heard that the high-quality Scottish salmon is better suited for sushi compared with salmon from the N-word country. In addition, Whisky exports to Japan, ten times larger than salmon exports in terms of value, also increased by hefty 20.9%.
Therefore, we can conclude that Scottish salmon and whisky were the main driving forces to realize a healthy 7.6% increase of annual UK exports last year. These statistics must have given so much relief to the Westminster as International Trade Minister Liz Truss boasted of this good performance during her visit to Japan in December.
Needless to say, the year 2020 will be a crucial year for the United Kingdom and Scotland in the making of relations with their international partners. This week, I participated in a useful meeting of CBI Scotland. The right honourable Nicola Sturgeon and Trade Minister Ivan Mckee declared that Scotland will aim to increase exports in the next ten years and identified the Next 11, a list of promising destination countries of Scottish products, in which Japan was at the top.
Given the mutually beneficial relations between Japan and Scotland, as I have stated, it is obvious that a close coordination between us will bring further benefits to all the parties concerned. I would like to strongly suggest that this Cross-Party Group on Japan could play a decisive role in that process.
In order to justify that prospect, I would like to ask Ms. Fujimoto to quickly review the achievements that has been made in 2019. So, let me excuse myself and pass the baton to her. Thank you very much.
As the year of 2019 witnessed so many wonderful developments in our bilateral relations here in Scotland, I would like to share some of them with you in chronological order.
In January, the V&A Dundee, a new landmark of the city, was officially and graciously opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were personally briefed by the Japanese designer of the building, Mr Kengo Kuma, highlighting the beautiful combination of Japanese aesthetics with Scotland's scenic coastlines.
In February, the National Museum of Scotland opened its East Asian Wing which features precious historic items from Japan. Also in February, this Cross-Party Group on Japan was established within the Scottish Parliament, thanks to the outstanding leadership of Convener Dean Lockhart MSP. This group has already met three times and is engaged in useful dialogue to promote our bilateral exchanges with active participation of business and cultural sectors.
Also in February it was announced also that Dundee University would be working with Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company Takeda who help develop drugs to help treat dementia. In July another co-operation agreement between the university and Japan was agreed with the major drug company Eisai now working with the university to develop cancer drugs.
As a part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, Consul General Takaoka joined the planting ceremony of 22 Sakura trees at the Japanese Garden at Cowden Castle, Clackmannanshire, together with Luke Graham MP and students of the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens in March.
Also in March as part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, Creative Scotland and the British Council Scotland announced a joint fund of £100,000 for funding 11 projects to promote links in the arts between Scotland and Japan. Amongst the Scottish organizations awarded by this fund were Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and Creative Dundee.
March also witnessed the establishment of the Orkney Japan Association - chaired by Liam McArthur MSP. I was truly glad to observe that the friendship with Japan has spread as far north as Orkney.
2019 was flooded with numerous discussions, as well as twists and turns pertaining to a certain "B" word. But amid all of these, I'm happy to note that Japanese companies here are enjoying another successful year in the business-friendly environment offered by Scotland.
A great example of such success was the "Pump it Up" event held in June by Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning Systems Europe Ltd and West Lothian Chambers of Commerce. This educational event provided 2000 students in the Council area with educational opportunities to think about the environment and technology, again as part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture.
Indeed during 2019, there were a number of important Japanese investments in Scotland to which I will name a few. The most noted is that in February 2019 Mitsubishi acquired 20% of the energy company Ovo who already had a subsidiary called Spark Energy. Ovo is now set to take over Perth-based SSE’s domestic supply arm officially this month, in an investment announced initially in September. Through this Ovo will become the UK’s second largest domestic energy supplier with a few thousand additional Scottish workers, with many in Perth.
In January, the V&A Dundee, a new landmark of the city, was officially and graciously opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were personally briefed by the Japanese designer of the building, Mr Kengo Kuma, highlighting the beautiful combination of Japanese aesthetics with Scotland's scenic coastlines.
In February, the National Museum of Scotland opened its East Asian Wing which features precious historic items from Japan. Also in February, this Cross-Party Group on Japan was established within the Scottish Parliament, thanks to the outstanding leadership of Convener Dean Lockhart MSP. This group has already met three times and is engaged in useful dialogue to promote our bilateral exchanges with active participation of business and cultural sectors.
Also in February it was announced also that Dundee University would be working with Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company Takeda who help develop drugs to help treat dementia. In July another co-operation agreement between the university and Japan was agreed with the major drug company Eisai now working with the university to develop cancer drugs.
As a part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, Consul General Takaoka joined the planting ceremony of 22 Sakura trees at the Japanese Garden at Cowden Castle, Clackmannanshire, together with Luke Graham MP and students of the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens in March.
Also in March as part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, Creative Scotland and the British Council Scotland announced a joint fund of £100,000 for funding 11 projects to promote links in the arts between Scotland and Japan. Amongst the Scottish organizations awarded by this fund were Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and Creative Dundee.
March also witnessed the establishment of the Orkney Japan Association - chaired by Liam McArthur MSP. I was truly glad to observe that the friendship with Japan has spread as far north as Orkney.
2019 was flooded with numerous discussions, as well as twists and turns pertaining to a certain "B" word. But amid all of these, I'm happy to note that Japanese companies here are enjoying another successful year in the business-friendly environment offered by Scotland.
A great example of such success was the "Pump it Up" event held in June by Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning Systems Europe Ltd and West Lothian Chambers of Commerce. This educational event provided 2000 students in the Council area with educational opportunities to think about the environment and technology, again as part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture.
Indeed during 2019, there were a number of important Japanese investments in Scotland to which I will name a few. The most noted is that in February 2019 Mitsubishi acquired 20% of the energy company Ovo who already had a subsidiary called Spark Energy. Ovo is now set to take over Perth-based SSE’s domestic supply arm officially this month, in an investment announced initially in September. Through this Ovo will become the UK’s second largest domestic energy supplier with a few thousand additional Scottish workers, with many in Perth.
Other important investments have included Mitsubishis involvement in the Neart na Gaoithe project in the Firth of Forth area along with French company EDF.
Mitsubishi continued also in the development of another planned wind farm project, the Moray East project which it part owns, with its subsidiary MHI Vestas winning the contract to supply turbines for the project. It was announced the turbines will be partly constructed by the part-Mitsui-owned Global Energy Group at its yard in Nigg in the east Highlands.
Meanwhile Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced its plan to build a factory in Aberdeen to construct a factory to build subsea vehicles for the oil and gas sector.
Japanese communications companies have also been investing with NTT Data opening an office in Glasgow and Softbank-owned workspace provider WeWork opening an office in Edinburgh.
Torishima announced that Glasgow, where is has had site for a number of years, will now be its European headquarters. Meanwhile NEC-owned Northgate Public Services, which already has two offices in Scotland, acquired an additional office in Dundee when it acquired the EMIS group.
Scotland's youth continued to lead the way in August with the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra travelling to Japan for a summer tour. Their performances were very well received including the first ever musical performance held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park since its establishment 65 years ago.
2019 also saw the centenary anniversaries of two landmark events for the Japanese whisky industry. Exactly one hundred years ago, Masataka Taketsuru, who later came to be known as the founding father of Japanese whisky met his future wife Rita Cowen in Kirkintilloch and was also admitted to Glasgow University to study chemistry. If there were no Rita Cowen and Glasgow University, there would be no Japanese whisky as we know now.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August saw an increasing presence of Japanese performers one of which was awarded the Asian Arts Awards 2019 for Best Comedy.
Other exciting news in August was that Heart of Midlothian F.C welcomed Ryo Meshino on temporary loan from Manchester City. Meshino is sure to follow the footsteps Shunsuke Nakamura and make a mark on Scottish football.
Torishima announced that Glasgow, where is has had site for a number of years, will now be its European headquarters. Meanwhile NEC-owned Northgate Public Services, which already has two offices in Scotland, acquired an additional office in Dundee when it acquired the EMIS group.
Scotland's youth continued to lead the way in August with the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra travelling to Japan for a summer tour. Their performances were very well received including the first ever musical performance held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park since its establishment 65 years ago.
2019 also saw the centenary anniversaries of two landmark events for the Japanese whisky industry. Exactly one hundred years ago, Masataka Taketsuru, who later came to be known as the founding father of Japanese whisky met his future wife Rita Cowen in Kirkintilloch and was also admitted to Glasgow University to study chemistry. If there were no Rita Cowen and Glasgow University, there would be no Japanese whisky as we know now.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August saw an increasing presence of Japanese performers one of which was awarded the Asian Arts Awards 2019 for Best Comedy.
Other exciting news in August was that Heart of Midlothian F.C welcomed Ryo Meshino on temporary loan from Manchester City. Meshino is sure to follow the footsteps Shunsuke Nakamura and make a mark on Scottish football.
Last October, with the help of the Japanese School in Livingston and the University of Edinburgh Japan Society, we held our first Autumn Festival event at the Teviot Debating hall. It was a hugely successful day with almost 800 visitors attending and joining in with the days cultural booths, workshops and enjoying home-cooked Japanese food. We are really looking forward to next Autumn where we hope we can build on the success of last year and hold an even bigger day-out for families in and around Edinburgh.
In the field of renewable energy, Japan-Scotland cooperation is growing. The Mayor of Yurihonjo City visited Aberdeen to examine examples of offshore windfarms in July and the Mayor of Kobe City again visited Aberdeen for the World Energy Cities Partnership Conference in September.
Consul general Takaoka already mentioned Cabinet Secretary Hyslops visit to Japan in October last year. In addition to visiting Genki Sushi and seeing the Japan-Scotland match, the Cabinet Secretary’s engagements covered a diverse amount of areas including business, inter-government relations and cultural ties.
In the field of renewable energy, Japan-Scotland cooperation is growing. The Mayor of Yurihonjo City visited Aberdeen to examine examples of offshore windfarms in July and the Mayor of Kobe City again visited Aberdeen for the World Energy Cities Partnership Conference in September.
Consul general Takaoka already mentioned Cabinet Secretary Hyslops visit to Japan in October last year. In addition to visiting Genki Sushi and seeing the Japan-Scotland match, the Cabinet Secretary’s engagements covered a diverse amount of areas including business, inter-government relations and cultural ties.
She had meetings with Vice-Minister for Education, Culture and Sport Ms Ueno, the Governor of Nagasaki Mr Nakamura and the Mayor of Nagasaki Mr Taue. She also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mayor of Yokohama Ms Hayashi on co-operation on areas such as culture and subsea technology.
She also was there for the official announcement of another Japanese investment in Scotland with washing machine manufacturer Mayekawa announcing plans to open an office in Glasgow. In addition in Tokyo the latest round of the Nippon Foundation-Scottish Enterprise funding for joint Scotland-Japan subsea technology projects was announced with £21 million in funding for six projects.
It was also announced that in August the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra will take part in the Edinburgh Festival. I hope that many of you attend one of their concerts.
These are just some of the highlights of our Japan-Scotland relations in 2019. With your invaluable support, I am looking forward to an even more promising future that lies ahead of us in 2020.
Thank you.
It was also announced that in August the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra will take part in the Edinburgh Festival. I hope that many of you attend one of their concerts.
These are just some of the highlights of our Japan-Scotland relations in 2019. With your invaluable support, I am looking forward to an even more promising future that lies ahead of us in 2020.
Thank you.