Distributed on behalf of the Greater Manchester Japan Steering Group

Greater Manchester is getting ready to take its partnership with Japan to the next level in 2025, as the city-region prepares for a host of major events, activities, and visits to celebrate its historic ties with the country and boost trade, investment, and tourism.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, and Jo Ahmed, Honorary Consul of Japan in Greater Manchester, are announcing today (Tuesday 16 July) plans to make Japan a key focus for broadening and deepening diplomatic, business, cultural, and civic links throughout 2025.

The announcement follows the landmark Greater Manchester mission to Japan in December 2023, which saw the signing of a new partnership with the city of Osaka, and a return visit last month to the city-region by a senior delegation from the Japanese city of Osaka, including Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama.

As part of that deal signed last year, Greater Manchester will appear at EXPO 2025 Osaka. The city-region will partner with the Department for Business and Trade and the UK Pavilion, as well as with Osaka City, to deliver in a week-long series of events in June 2025 to engage with political leaders, trade officials, and Japanese business – putting Greater Manchester centre-stage at the biggest international event of the decade.

Then in September 2025, Manchester will host Japan Week, an international cultural festival featuring hundreds of Japanese performers showcasing traditional Japanese culture. Organised by the International Friendship Foundation, Japan Week 2025 will be a special 50th anniversary of the event, which has been held in major world cities including Boston, Seville, and Athens.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “2025 will be the year that Greater Manchester and Japan take our partnership to the next level. Our city-region has a special connection to Japan that dates back centuries but is always forward-looking – focused on cooperation, innovation, and growth that benefits our people and places.

“We are ready to put Greater Manchester at the heart of the biggest international event in the world in Osaka next year, seizing new opportunities to boost trade, investment, and tourism – and we are excited to welcome the hundreds of performers and creators who make up Japan Week to our city-region.”

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, added: “Manchester is a diverse and welcoming city enriched by our international communities. We’re proud of our historic connections with Japan and look forward to continuing to develop new and renewed partnerships throughout 2025 at EXPO and Japan Week. Culture is a great way to foster mutual understanding between cities and countries, and I am looking forward to seeing that exchange play out both in Japan and here in Manchester.”

Mayor of Osaka, Hideyuki Yokoyama, added: “The recent delegation visit to Greater Manchester was incredibly meaningful. It bestowed a substantial occasion for both city-regions to further promote exchanges. I am also delighted that Greater Manchester delegates will be visiting Osaka in June 2025 for EXPO, and we sincerely look forward to welcoming them. Finally, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Manchester on being the host for the prestigious Japan Week. From Osaka, we wish for the utmost success of your events throughout 2025.”

Jo Ahmed, Honorary Consul of Japan in Greater Manchester, added: “As Honorary Consul of Japan and Chair of the Manchester Japan Steering group, it is fantastic to see the strength of partnership that has developed between Greater Manchester and Japan across several areas including business and innovation links as well as through culture and sport. I am so pleased that Greater Manchester will be taking part in EXPO 2025 and hosting the 50th Japan Week here in Manchester, and look forward to seeing the untold benefits these events will bring.”

Greater Manchester has a longstanding relationship with Japan, and specifically Osaka, dating back to the 19th century when a group of students from the Satsuma region travelled to the city-region to learn about the revolutionary industrial technology that was being used in the local cotton industry. This collaboration boosted the industrial revolution taking place in the East, and helped Osaka become known as the “Manchester of the East”.

More recently, the city-region’s engagement with Osaka has included a partnership signed in December 2023 which committed both parties to closer collaboration and cooperation at an inter-city level, seeking to strengthen exchanges on environmental policy areas and the delivery of net zero objectives; to promote economic opportunities and develop robust collaborative ties; and to boost innovation and educational links between the universities in both city-regions.

Japan is one of Greater Manchester’s most important economic partners. Greater Manchester exported £99m worth of goods to Japan in 2022, and in 2021 service exports from the city-region to Japan were valued at £151m – putting Japan in Greater Manchester’s top 10 service export markets.

Japan is also a major market for foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK, consistently ranking among the top 15 source countries for FDI over the past three years. Japanese companies already established in Greater Manchester include Nippon Electric Glass, Kansai Electric Power Company, Hitachi Astemo, Daikin and Shimadzu.

Final dates, venues, and the full programme for Greater Manchester’s presence at EXPO 2025 and for Japan Week 2025 will be announced in the coming months.

Any Greater Manchester business or organisation that would like to be involved in either event is encouraged to contact international@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk