Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had recent discussions with his Japanese counterpart on increasing cooperation between the Japanese and UK legal service sectors.

The UK and Japan have a strong legal services trading relationship, with bilateral legal services trade valued at approximately £147m in 2021 (ONS data) and multiple UK law firms maintaining a presence in Japan. The UK and Japan regularly engage to discuss legal services. This includes as part of ongoing cooperation under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which was reaffirmed by the signing of the Hiroshima Accord by PM Sunak and PM Kishida in May 2023.

In July 2023, the Secretary of State for Justice undertook a visit to Japan to attend the G7 Justice Ministerial Forum. As part of the visit, the Secretary of State for Justice discussed legal services with his counterpart, the Japanese Justice Minister, and with representatives from the UK and Japanese legal sectors. The Secretary of State for Justice and Japanese Justice Minister signed a UK-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on legal and justice affairs. The Memorandum of Cooperation will increase collaboration between Justice Ministries by establishing a regular dialogue on legal and justice matters. The agreement signals a mutual desire to strengthen cooperation between the Japanese and UK legal services sectors, and commits to cooperation on international legal services and dispute resolution.