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Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan visited the United Kingdom from 22 to 28 June 2024 at the invitation of His Majesty King Charles III.

On the occasion of the State Visit to the UK by TM The Emperor and The Empress of Japan, The Japan Society along with four other organisations related to Japan in the UK held a private reception in the presence of HM The Emperor of Japan. Read the Emperor's remarks and see the main images of the day

See more images from the 'Reception with the Japanese Community and Friends of Japan' on Monday 24 June, when we welcomed more than 400 guests from culture and civil society, business, and science and research, along with representatives of the Imperial Household, Royal Household, and both governments.

In April, May, and June 2024, our Public Lecture Series featured an engaging line-up exploring topics such as women's liberation and disability activism in Japan's reproductive justice movement, the cultural influence of the JET Programme, and gender disparities in higher education and economics between Japan and the UK.

To celebrate the Emperor and Empress's visit to the UK, The Japan Society invites children to design a UK-Japan costume for a set of traditional emperor and empress hina dolls.

See photos from ‘Exploring Japan: A Diplomatic Journey with Ambassador Paul Madden’, where Paul Madden CMG FRGS was joined by Stephen Barber to discuss his latest book.

See photos from our June woodblock printing workshops, with Hiroko Imada.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 18th World Children's Haiku Contest 2022. The Japan Society would like to thank everyone for their support of this year’s contest and for their patience in waiting for the results.

The Inaugural UK Ekiden is looking for schools in the UK to be a part of the special race by holding their own mini-ekiden on the same day. Ekiden is a long-distance multi-stage relay race in Japan. Inspired by this running tradition in Japan, and particularly the 100-year anniversary of Japan’s most famous ekiden, the Hakone Ekiden, the UK now has its very own race!

Last month, The Japan Society visited the University of Reading with Tomoko Hoult to deliver two soroban workshops.