A scene from Stopgap Dance Company's performance The Enormous Room
The Enormous Room © Stopgap Dance Company / Photo by Chris Parkes

The British Council and the British Embassy Tokyo will jointly organise an exciting year of UK-Japan exchange titled ‘UK in JAPAN 2019-20’ from September 2019. The year will coincide with the start of the Rugby World Cup and run through to the end of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in September 2020.

The celebration of ‘UK in JAPAN 2019-20’ was officially announced in the UK-Japan joint statement, published by Prime Minister May and Prime Minister Abe in London in January 2019. The UK hosted both the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Building on this legacy, ‘UK in JAPAN 2019-20’ will use the catalyst of these two global sporting moments hosted in Japan to further collaboration between the two countries. 

Through diverse programmes in a wide range of fields including the arts, education, business, science and innovation, this year of exchange will demonstrate the strength of the bilateral UK-Japan relationship, and will promote continued and new partnerships.

As part of ‘UK in JAPAN 2019-20’ the British Council will deliver programmes in the arts, English language and education. Within the arts, collaboration will be strengthened under three main themes: Diversity and Inclusion, Cities and Public Spaces and Digital Technology.

If you have any enquiries, please contact us via our online enquiry form.

To learn more about the British Council's international festivals and seasons, please visit our website.

Opportunities for the UK Arts Sector

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