Press Area

The Board of Japan H. L. Limited, which operates Japan House London, has announced the appointment of Sam Thorne, Director of Nottingham Contemporary, as the new Director General and CEO of Japan House London. He starts on 17 October 2022.

Director General Michael Houlihan and the Team at Japan House London join the nation and the rest of the world in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

Japan House London is excited to announce that AKIRA Restaurant has received three nominations at the fourth annual British Restaurant Awards.

On Wednesday 22 June 2022 Japan House London celebrates its fourth anniversary as London’s cultural hub for Japanese creativity and innovation. This milestone marks four successful years as a significant part of the cultural fabric of London. 

In collaboration with expert practitioners in chadō (the Way of Tea) from Tankokai UK, Japan House London – the cultural home of Japan in the UK - presents a season of free tea demonstrations and talks, running until April 2022. 

Japan House London is set to be part of the first-ever Japan Festival taking place at Kew Gardens between 2 – 31 October 2021. 

From 17 July until 7 November 2021 Japan House London has the honour of hosting a selection of works by Tokolo Asao. 

Large scale geometric project exclusively designed by leading Japanese artist Tokolo Asao launches in August. 

On 22 June 2021 Japan House London will celebrate its third anniversary as the cultural home of Japan in the UK, located on Kensington High Street.  

It is with great sadness that we announce that Sir Roger Gifford, a Trustee of the Japan House London Trust, passed on Tuesday, 25 May.

Japan House London will reopen its doors from Thursday 9 July. Locals and Londoners will be welcomed back to explore the Ground Floor, the first space of the cultural destination to reopen offering guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in Japanese culture, discovering artists, designers, craftspeople and regional materials and skills.

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Kensington is embarking on a mission to rebrand and revitalise Kensington High Street. As part of London Design Festival (14-22 September 2019) two ‘creative crossings’ were unveiled to the public.  This project – the first of its kind to be unveiled on Kensington High Street – showcases designs from two local institutions, the Design Museum and Japan House London.

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On Friday 5 July 2019 Japan House London collaborated with the British Museum and Kansai Yamamoto on a special Late event. The Japan House pop-up bar was in the British Museum’s Great Court serving DASSAI sake and a spectacular manga-inspired fashion presentation was put on by students from the University of the Arts London (UAL) and six Japanese fashion schools, having been mentored by iconic Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto.

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A selection of interior and exterior shots of the Japan House London building, as well as a press release regarding the interior design, can be found and downloaded here. Please take note of any photo captions or credits when downloading images. 

On Japan House's opening day, Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto, along with a 30-strong troupe of volunteers and Japan House staff, took to the streets of London to delight members of the public with a colourful Flower Messenger procession. 

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Here you can download images of people involved in the creation and operation of Japan House London: Chief Creative Director, Hara Kenya; Interior Designer, Katayama Masamichi; Director General, Michael Houlihan; Director - Programming, Simon Wright; and others involved with Japan House London. 

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