Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of UK diplomatic relations with Japan.

​UK-Japan bilateral relations are the strongest they have been in years. Japan is one of our closest partners in the region. We are natural partners, with common interests as outward-looking, democratic, free-trading island nations with global reach.

During the Prime Minister's visit to Japan in August 2017, she committed to elevating the UK-Japan partnership to a new level. The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Abe agreed to enhance cooperation across three pillars of the bilateral relationship: Security and Defence; Prosperity; and Innovation. The Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary met their Japanese counterparts in London on 14 December, as part of regular, proactive engagement with the Japanese government and business, with special emphasis on defence and security issues.