Businessmen and business figures
- Albert James Penniall: Pioneer of the Japanese Motor Vehicle Industry
- Alexander Allan Shand, 1844-1930 - A Banker the Japanese Could Trust
- Alps Electric (UK) Limited and the Birth of Two Trees Photonics Limited
- Ariyoshi Yoshiya KBE (Hon) (1901-82)
- Armstrong's, Vickers and Japan
- Arthur Hesketh Groom (1846-1918): Emblematic Edwardian, Complusive Clubman, Accidental Ancestor
- British Export Efforts: Personal Reflections of a British Trade Official
- The British Export Marketing Centre and the Promotion of British Exports from 1972
- British Training for Japanese Engineers: The Case of Kikuchi KyÅzÅ (1859-1942)
- Charles Holme (1848-1923), Founder of The Studio and Connoisseur of Japanese Art
- Charles Sale (1868-1943) and George Sale (1896-1976):Business and Politics in Anglo-Japanese Relations
- Chino Yoshitoki (1923-2004) and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
- Christopher W. McDonald (1931-2011): A Life in Japan
- Chugai Pharmaceutical in the United Kingdom
- 'Competitors with the English sporting men.' Civilization, Enlightenment and Horse Racing: Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1860-2010
- Sydney Giffard: 'Early Days in the Kansai'
- Edgar Abbott (1849-1890) Athlete and Brewer
- Edward Heath (1916-2005) and Japan: The First Visit of a British Prime Minister to Japan in 1972
- Eikichi Itoh (1911-2012) and Rosa Hideko Itoh (1921-2005)
- English Lawyers and Japan from the 1960s to the Present Day
- Ernest Cyril Comfort: The Other British Aviation Mission and Mitsubishi 1921-24
- Experiences of Some British Merchant Bankers in Japan
- How Some Politicians Saw Post-war Japan
- Frederick Cornes, 1837-1927: Founder and Senior Partner of Cornes and Company (1873-1911)
- Freemasonry in Japan
- Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901): The Finances of a Japanese Modernizer
- Honda SÅichirÅ (1906-1991) and Honda Motors in Britain
- HSBC: A Fellowship in Banking. Pioneers in Japan, 1866-1900
- Inoue Masaru - 'Father' of the Japanese Railways
- Isaac Bunting (1850-1936): From Essex to Japan and Japanese Lily Bulbs
- John Figgess: Japan Under Occupation, a Personal Reminiscence
- The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910: The Japanese Organizers
- Japanese Businessmen in the UK
- John Samuel Swire (1825-98) and Japan, 1867-98
- Kathleen Mary Drew Baker, British Botanist whose Studies Helped to Save the Japanese Nori Industry
- Kazuo Kikuta (1908-1973), Japanese Impresario and Lover of Charles Dickens: A Personal Memoir
- Keith Ernest Thurley (1931-92): Scholar, Teacher and Innovator in Industrial Relations
- Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) and Japan
- Lord (Eric) Roll of Ipsden (1907-2005), S.G. Warburg and Shirasu JirÅ
- Memories of the Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty: A Japanese Perspective
- Merrick Baker-Bates: From Diplomacy to Commerce and Back
- Mike Perry: Chairman of Unilever
- Mitsubishi Electric's Manufacturing Investments in Scotland
- Mitsui in London
- Morita Akio (1921-99), Sony and Britain
- Nissan and the British Motor Vehicle Industry (Prior to the Nissan Investment in the UK in 1984)
- Nissan Investment in Britain: History of a Negotiation 1980-84
- NSK at Peterlee: A Successful Japanese Manufacturing Investment in the UK
- Peter Hewett, 1920-82
- Peter Parker: Global Advisor to Mitsubishi Electric
- Peter Parker: First Impressions of Japan
- Banking and Financial Services: A British Commercial Banker in Japan 1980-1985
- British Businessmen in Japan: Some Service Sectors
- British Businessmen in Japan: Developing Trade Relations
- Scotch Whisky in Japan
- Selling British Electronics to Japan: Part 1 : Selling to Japanese Manufacturers Investing in Britain
- Selling British Electronics to Japan: Part 2 : Selling to Japanese Companies in Japan
- Sharp Corporation's UK Research Investment: Sharp Laboratories of Europe Ltd
- Shirasu JirÅ (1902-1985): A Complicated and Enigmatic Personality
- Sir John Figgess KBE, CMG (1909-97)
- Sir Peter Parker (1924-2002) and Japan
- Takayuki Eguchi
- The 'Japan Chronicle' and its three editors: Robert Young, Morgan Young and Edwin Allington Kennard, 1891-1940
- The British Chamber of Commerce (Japan), 1948- 2015
- The British Pavilion at Aichi Expo 2005
- The Mutsu Family
- The Nippon Club, 1881-2014
- The Nippon YÅ«sen Kaisha (NYK): Two important British managers Albert Brown and Thomas James
- The Yokohama Specie Bank in London
- Thomas Wright Blakiston (1832-91)
- Toyota and Britain
- Investment Management and Broking: The Experiences of Two Old Hands
- Banking and Financial Services: A View from the Bank of England and Treasury
- Uyeno Yutaka (1915- )
- William Keswick, 1835-1912: Jardine's Pioneer in Japan
- Wool in Japan: A very British Story
- Yoshimoto Tadasu, 1878-1973: 'Father of the Blind in Japan'
Author: Madeley, Christopher
Taking Albert Penniall's diary from his two years in Japan this portrait sheds light on what it was like to work for a Japanese firm in the 1920s and provides a picture of expatriate life in Japan at the time.
Author: Checkland, Olive, and Norio, Tamaki
Alexander Allan Shand (1844-1930) taught Japanese bankers the elements of Western banking, auditing and accounting, and later smoothed the way for the Japanese government to borrow on the London money market.
Author: Woodland, Peter
This chapter is about the development of the company Alps Electric (UK), which was the European manufacturing arm of Alps Electric Co. Ltd, Japan. Right after closure in 2009, Alps Electric (UK) passed on the development of new technologies to Two Trees Photonics Limited, co-founded by two former employees of Alps UK.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
Ariyoshi Yoshiya (1901-82) was known as 'the grand old man of Japanese shipping'. This portrait focuses on his character and his love of both Britain and Japanese cultural traditions.
Author: Conte-Helm, Marie
This portrait considers the history of Britain's shipbuilding links with Japan through the firms Armstrong's and Vickers.
Author: Lockyer, Angus
Arthur Groom (1846-1918) is widely consdiered the father of Japanese golf, and this portrait examines his arguably accidental part in the development of modern Japan during the Meiji period.
Author: Thorne, Ben
Ben Thorne was closely involved in efforts to persuade British exporters to look at opportunities in Japan, organised the 1969 British Week in Tokyo, and then formed the Tokyo Export Marketing Centre in 1973. Here he reflects on UK-Japan Commercial relations from 1968 to '79.
Author: Dimond, Paul
This portrait is of the generations of individuals who built the structure for promoting British business in Japan in the early 1970s.
Author: Hunter, Janet
This chapter covers the development of technological education in early Meiji Japan, including a profile of the career of Kikuchi KyÅzÅ (1859-1942).
Author: Huberman, Toni
This essay offer an account of Charles Holme's (1848-1923) career as an art collecter and connoisseur of Japanese art, as well as his founding of The Studio - the first international arts magazine.
Author: Best, Antony
This chapter details Charles Sale’s success as a British businessman in Japan, as well as the efforts he and his son George made to promote Anglo-Japanese relations in the UK.
Author: Clegg, Nick
This essay offers an account and analysis of the career of one of the most charismatic and forwardthinking leaders in the Japanese Securities Industry, Chino Yoshitoki's (1923-2004), along with his work with the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.
Author: Nakajima, Yuuichiro
After arriving in 1950, Christopher W. McDonald spent nearly sixty-two years living in Japan, witnessing at first hand the nation’s transformation after the devastation of the Second World War.
Author: Edelshain, Martin
Chugai Pharmaceutical has growth in the European market through its investment in UK subsidiaries. The chapter also covers Chugai’s subsequent support for the promotion of Anglo-Japanese relations.
Author: Buckley, Roger
The British connection was critical to the development of Western-style horse racing in Japan from the 1860s onwards; what began as little more than an amateurish diversion for the expatriate communities of the treaty ports has evolved into a vast multi-billion Yen enterprise.
Author: Giffard, Sydney
Having completed his time as a language student, future Ambassador Sydney Giffard was sent to the Kansai to gain experience as a Vice-Consul. Here he describes life in Kansai in the 1950s, putting it in the context of progressive centralization in Tokyo.
Author: Galbraith, Mike
Chapter 7 looks at the life and dealings of Edgar Abbot, a prestigious sportsman, brewer and businessman who came to Japan and opened Japan Brewery Co., creating Japans first joint stock Company. On top of this he also was the initiator of a vast number of different sports clubs in Yokohama.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
Edward Heath (1916-2005) was the first British Prime Minister to make an official visit to Japan. This essay details Heath's 1972 visit and its aftermath.
Author: Itoh Keiko
Eikichi and Rosa Itoh carved out a niche in Anglo-Japanese relations that spanned the twentieth century. This portrait details their career and dealings with Britain.
Author: Grundy, Tony
This article, which talks about the role of English lawyers on the Japanese legal systems from the 1960s, analyses in depth three areas: the development of international finance and security work in Japan, the English contribution to deregulation of legal services and the practices developed by London headquartered law firms which set up offices in Tokyo from 1987.
Author: Hoare, James Edward
Ernest Cyril Comfort played a significant role in the post First World War Civil Aviation Mission to Japan. This essay provides an account of the mission and Comfort's role in aiding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Author: Naish, John; Christopher Purvis; Edmund de Rothschild; and Hugh Trenchard
Key figures from the British merchant banking community in Japan reflect on the experience of doing business there, and on the changing market from the 1950s to '80s.
Author: Baker, Kenneth; Denis Healey; Julian Ridsdale; and Patrick Jenkin
Although few British politicians have had more than a cursory knowledge of Japan, large numbers of MPs have visited the country, and some have managed to achieve more than a passing acquaintance with it. The British Japan Parliamentary Group and the UK-Japan 2000 Group (later UK-Japan 21st Century Group) have been the driving force behind this. Here key figures from these organisations describe their dealings with Japan.
Author: Davies, Peter N.
This essay charts the establishment, growth and successes in Japan of Cornes and Company through its founder, Frederick Cornes (1837-1927).
Author: Chakmakjian, Pauline
This essay considers the history of freemasonry in Japan - its introduction and issues of compatibility with Japanese religious beliefs.
Author: Tamaki Norio
A writer, journalist and businessman, Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) made a significant contribution to Meiji Japan, and a personal fortune in the process.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
This essay provides an account of Honda SÅichirÅ's (1906-1991) life, personality, and business relationship with Britain.
Author: Green, Edwin
This essay details the way in which HSBC was a pioneer and prototype of banking and international finance in nineteenth-century Japan.
Author: Yamamoto Yumiyo
Inoue Masaru (1843-1910) was one of the Choshu five - ambitious young men sent to England to study in 1863. This essay details the significant contribution of Inoue Masaru to the construction of Japanese railways, and the influence of his time and study in Britain on his civic career.
Author: James, Prue
This essay details Isaac Bunting's (1850-1936) trade in lily bulbs in Japan, the growth and decline of the business, and the work and character of Bunting himself.
Author: Figgess, John
Diplomat John Figgess was among the first of the British contingent to arrive in Tokyo in 1945 and in this chapter he describes his arrival and his work in Japan.
Author: Hotta-Lister, Ayako
This portrait assesses the success of the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 from the perspective of the Japanese organizers.
Author: Oba, Sadao
This essay gives an overview to some of the prominent businessmen who spent significant parts of their careers in Britain.
Author: Bleasdale, Charlotte
This essay charts the Japan career of John Samuel Swire (1825-98) ('the Father of Shipping Conferences') and the establishment, growth and success in Japan of the trading and shipping company Butterfield & Swire.
Author: Baker, John R., and Biggs, Frances K.
The essay details the career of Botanist Kathleen Mary Drew Baker (1901-57), and how her studies helped to save the Japanese Nori industry.
Author: Albery, Nobuko
This portrait provides an insight into the role of writer, director and impressario Kazuo Kikuta (1908-1973) in the Japanese commercial theatre industry, to which he introduced numerous West End and Broadway shows.
Author: Maclean, Nicolas
This essay provides an account of sociologist Keith Thurley's (1931-92) lifelong commitment to industrial cooperation between Europe and Asia, and to the study of contemporary Japan.
Author: Ashmore, Sonia
Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) presided over his company at a time when Japanese luxury goods were hugely popular in Britain. This essay considers Liberty in relation to japonsime, as well as his visits to Japan to oversee business.
Author: Gordon, Martin
Across Lord Eric Roll's (1907-2005) work as economist, investment banker and civil servant lie dealings with Japan. This essay provides an account and analysis of those dealings.
Author: Hanaoka Sosuke
A Japanese account of the Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty.
Author: Baker-Bates, Merrick
Merrick Baker-Bates was first a diplomatic service language student in Japan before becoming Commercial Counsellor. Having transferred to commerce for four years he subsequently returned to the diplomatic service as Consul General in LA. Here he describes his various lives in Japan, with particular reference to his time as a language student, the shift in emphasis in the 1960s to promoting British exports, and to his time as General Manager of Cornes and Company.
Author: Perry, Mike
Mike Perry headed Unilever's joint venture in Japan from 1981 to '83 and went on to lead various British campaigns to export to Japan. Here he describes his experiences in Japan in the early 1980s.
Author: Noguchi, Yoshio
Mitsubishi Electric set up various factories in Scotland in the late 20th century. Written by the person largely responsible for these investments, this chapter provides an interesting angle on the motivations of Japanese electronics firms investing in the UK.
Author: Oba Sadao
Mitsui & Co. Ltd was given the responsibility of managing the collection and export of rice to China and Europe. This essay details its growth and success in the City of London.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
Morita Akio (1921-99) was one of the main driving forces behind the Sony Corporation. This essay details his career, personality, and business philosophy, as well as his relationship with Britain.
Author: Madeley, Christopher
Nissan has a long history of formal and informal relations with Britain, and this essay provides a history of these relations as well as their nature and establishment.
Author: Mountfield, Robin
This essay details the negotiations, subsequent investments, and business relationship between Nissan and Britain from 1980-84.
Author: NSK Staff Members
Chapter 37 addresses the plant that NSK opened in Peterlee, County Durham, in 1976. It covers the difficulties the firm faced, as well as the significance of this investment.
Author: Baker-Bates, Merrick
This portrait considers Peter Hewett's (1920-82) major contribution to the post-war growth inAnglo-Japanese trade.
Author: Parker, Peter
The importance of attracting capital investment to Britain was increasingly recognised by British governments from the 1970s onwards. Businessman Peter Parker became closely involved with Japanese investment in Britain. Here he recounts his later experiences with Japan and considers the future.
Author: Parker, Peter
Peter Parker reached Japan in October 1945 as a British officer. In this chapter he describes his experiences both of Japan and the American Occupation.
Author: Hand, Peter
Banker Peter Hand reflects on the changed circumstances for British banks in Japan from the post war period to the 1980s.
Author: Large, Dick; Graham McCallum; Martyn Naylor; Ann Wilkinson; and David Wilkinson
One of the key service sectors for Britain in Japan was the airline industry, and until the late 1980s the main British company involved was British Airways. Here David Wilkinson, BA's manager in Japan from 1978 to '87 gives an account of his experience there, along with his wife, Ann Wilkinson's reflections. Following this, Martin Naylor recalls the important role played by the Japan British Society in the 1960s and '70s. During a forty-year career in Japan, Dick Large worked for John Swire & Sons (during which time he precided over Swire Japan's international shipping operations), Cathay Pacific and BA. Here he reflects on this period.
Author: Fraser, Duncan, and Lew Radbourne
Having first gone to Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, Lew Radbourne returned in 1949 as a junior expatriate with Dodwell and Company. Duncan Fraser first worked in Japan with Jardin Matheson and Company Limited and ended his service there as Direct of Royals Royce (Far East). Here both recall the early years of working and trading in Japan
Author: Jack, Stuart
This essay charts the way in which discriminatory taxes on Scotch Whisky were tackled and overcome during the 1980s.
Author: Cohen, Ivor
Part I: This essay shows the process of adaptation of Japanese television companies to invest and sell in the UK during the 70s and 80s.
Author: Bacon, Peter
Part II: The second section looks at the other side of the coin of UK-Japan components manufacturing and trade. This time British manufacturers had to adapt to Japanese companies’ needs. The process then led to the creation of a business joint venture.
Author: Bradley, Clive
This chapter focuses on Sharp Corporation. The investment in Sharp Laboratories is just one example of the rapidly developing economic ties between the UK and Japan in the late 1980s and the 1990s.
Author: Tokumoto Eiichiro
This portrait charts the life and influence of the complicated and enigmatic Shirasu JirÅ (1902-1985), described here as 'a symbol of his time' having lived through some of the best and worst episodes of Anglo-Japanese relations. During his life, he was a student at Cambridge, journalist, businessman, farmer and a crucial link between the Japanese government and the office of the Supreme Commander Allied Powers.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
This essay provides an account of the life and career of Sir John Figgess (1909-97), businessman, intelligence officer, diplomat and art expert.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
Businessman Sir Peter Parker (1924-2002) made an outstanding contribution to Anglo-Japanese relations in the final decades of the twentieth century. This essay offers an account and analysis of his career and impact in relation to Japan.
Author: Neal, Edna Read
This portrait examines the six year internment of businessman Takayuki Eguchi in Pentonville prison during the Second World War.
Author: O'Connor, Peter
This essay considers three editors of the Japan Chronicle, among them two of the most perceptive writers on Japan anywhere, covering the period from 1891 to 1940.
Author: Stains, de Ian
Chapter 44 traces the evolution of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan from post-Second World War (1948) until 2015. The Chamber quickly became a major forum for British and Japanese companies and its work has been supported by all British ambassadors throughout the years.
Author: Madden, Paul
The focus of this chapter is the preparation and then the result of the British Pavilion at the Aichi Expo in 2005. Although the task was not easy, the established steering group composed by public and private sector contributors successfully delivered a pavilion which lived up to the high expectations.
Author: Mutsu, Ian
This portrait sketches a history of the Mutsu family, and in particular considers their close ties to Britain and the effect this had on Anglo-Japanese relations.
Author: Kato Setsuo
One of the oldest Japanese institutions in London, the Nippon club traces it origins back to 1881 when groups of Japanese gathered monthly in the Strand. This portrait details its establishment and development.
Author: Takeno Hiroyuki
This essay considers two important managers of the Nippon YÅ«sen Kaisha, and how they devoted their lives to developing Japanese nautical facilities and education for the merchant marine and navy.
Author: Itoh Keiko
The history of the Yokohama Specie Bank in London provides a useful window into Japan's pre-war efforts to establish herself as a first-rate modernized empire. This essay considers how the bank reflects Japan's bold strides into the financial centre of the world, London.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
Thomas Wright Blakiston (1832-91), explorer, engineer and ornithologist, is best known for his discovery of 'Blackiston's Line' a zoogeographical boundary along the Tsugaru Strait.
Author: Toyoda ShÅichirÅ
Toyoda ShÅichirÅ offers his memoir of the Toyota Motor Company's establishment, growth, and subsequent association with Britain.
Author: Barr, Dugald, and Eric Elstob
Eric Elstob looks back on over thirty years in Japan in a career that started with the Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust. Meanwhile, Dugald Barr was recruited in 1969 by Vickers, da Costa, a company that was among the first to invest in the Tokyo market, to conduct research and open their Japan office, the first of a London broker in Japan. With Haruko Fukuda, he built up the largest business of any foreign broker in Japan. Here he racalls his experiences.
Author: Elston, Chris, and Geoffrey Littler
Before the 1970s there seemed to be little scope for British financial services in the closed Japanese market. Japanese membership of the OECD, however, forced gradual changes, along with internal pressure from Japanese companies wanting access to foreign loans. Here Chris Elston, who joined the British Embassy as Financial Counsellor in 1979 recalls his time as Bank of England representative in Japan, and reflects on both the state of Japan's banking system and general accounting practices in the years leading up to the crisis. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Little of HM Treasury gives an account of negotiations to ensure that Britain kept pace with American financial institutions in Japan.
Author: Yamagata-Footman Yuko
This essay details Uyeno Yutaka's (1915- ) family, personal, and business history specifically as it relates to interactions with Britain in the pertrochemical industry.
Author: Hoare, James Edward
This portrait details William Keswick's (1835-1912) impact upon trade between Britain and Japan as part of his long involvement in East Asian trade from the mid 19th to early 20th century.
Author: Ackroyd, R. Peter
The chapter illustrates the evolution of wool in Japan from the pre-second World War period until 2015. The analysis concerns changing design and commercial trends in Japan.
Author: Koyama Noboru
This portrait considers the unique and outstanding contribution of businessman Yoshimoto Tadasu (1878-1973) to the welfare of the blind in Japan