Courtesy call on Cllr Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council
2026/6/23
On Tuesday 23rd June, Consul General Katsutoshi Takeda paid a courtesy call on Cllr Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council.
The relationship between Glasgow and Japan has been firmly established for over 150 years, stretching from Japan’s modernization during the Meiji Restoration to modern high-tech investments. Following Yozo Yamao’s studies and the Iwakura Mission's inspection, Japan adopted Glasgow as its model for industrialization, with "oyatoi gaikokujin" (hired foreigners) like Henry Dyer laying the foundations of Japanese engineering education. Culture and taste also flourished; a mutual exchange of art in 1878 greatly influenced Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s style, while Masataka Taketsuru’s apprenticeship in the Taisho era birthed Japan’s domestic whisky industry.
Today, this historic bond is further driven by pioneering entries like shipbuilding-rooted Terasaki Electric since the 1970s, continuous massive medical investments by Terumo (Terumo Aortic), and cutting-edge hubs spearheaded by Hitachi Energy. During the meeting that day, both parties exchanged views on this long-standing collaboration between Glasgow and Japan and agreed to maintain close alignment to further strengthen their ties across a wide range of sectors, unlocking new future possibilities built upon their historic foundations in industry, culture, and technology.
The relationship between Glasgow and Japan has been firmly established for over 150 years, stretching from Japan’s modernization during the Meiji Restoration to modern high-tech investments. Following Yozo Yamao’s studies and the Iwakura Mission's inspection, Japan adopted Glasgow as its model for industrialization, with "oyatoi gaikokujin" (hired foreigners) like Henry Dyer laying the foundations of Japanese engineering education. Culture and taste also flourished; a mutual exchange of art in 1878 greatly influenced Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s style, while Masataka Taketsuru’s apprenticeship in the Taisho era birthed Japan’s domestic whisky industry.
Today, this historic bond is further driven by pioneering entries like shipbuilding-rooted Terasaki Electric since the 1970s, continuous massive medical investments by Terumo (Terumo Aortic), and cutting-edge hubs spearheaded by Hitachi Energy. During the meeting that day, both parties exchanged views on this long-standing collaboration between Glasgow and Japan and agreed to maintain close alignment to further strengthen their ties across a wide range of sectors, unlocking new future possibilities built upon their historic foundations in industry, culture, and technology.