To mark the 30th anniversary of the Japan Association in the UK, Japan House London hosts a talk on the history of the Japanese community in the United Kingdom, from 1863 to today.
Richly illustrated with archive images, the talk traces this history through prominent figures as well as the everyday lives of ordinary people who made the United Kingdom their home.
The story begins even before Japan had fully opened to the world. In 1863 and 1865, a decade before travel abroad was officially permitted in Japan, the domains of Chōshū and Satsuma smuggled a group of young students to the United Kingdom; several went on to lead the Meiji Restoration.
The speakers trace how a small but visible community took root from that time onwards, with milestones such as the founding of the Japanese cemetery at Hendon Park, and the growth of Japanese-run barbers, restaurants and shops serving a population after World War I. They particularly focus on London, where diplomats, business owners and entrepreneurs settled with their families, building community life around work, sports and social life.
The talk also offers insights into more recent history, from the 1960s onwards, when the community grew rapidly, supported by the 1962 Treaty of Commerce, Establishment and Navigation between the Japan and the United Kingdom and deepening cultural exchange in both directions. By the early 2000s, over 55,000 Japanese nationals were living in the United Kingdom; by 2025, the population was more than 62,000, with Japanese food, fashion and crafts having now become a familiar part of British multicultural society.
Please note that filming and / or photography may take place at this event. Photos and footage of the event may then be used to promote Japan House London, helping more people to discover what we offer. If you have any concerns, please contact us online or contact a member of the team on site.
Image: Yamanaka family portrait, early 1930s. Courtesy of the Japan Association in the UK
About the speakers
Momoko Williams
Momoko Williams was born in Kumamoto Prefecture and came to the United Kingdom in 1966. From 1970 to 2007, she worked as a TV researcher, location coordinator, interpreter and media consultant for Japanese broadcasters.
In 1996, she became one of ten founding members of the Japan Association in the UK, serving as its chairperson from 2020 to 2022 and continuing today as Advisor. She has curated and co-curated numerous projects documenting the Japanese community in the United Kingdom, including two exhibitions created with Keiko Itoh: Japanese in Britain 1863–2001 (2001) and Human Bridge: 150 Years of Anglo-Japanese Friendship and Commerce (2008), as well as the Wasurenagusa Project, launched in 2013. In 2006, she co-authored Falling Blossom with Peter Pagnamenta.
She married an Englishman and has two grown-up children.
Dr Keiko Itoh
Keiko Itoh was born in Kobe and left Japan after high school to pursue higher education in the United States. After receiving an MA from Yale University, she worked for the United Nations in New York, before coming to the United Kingdom in 1991 to work as a media and public relations officer for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank London Office.
In 1995, she returned to academic study, earning a PhD in History from the London School of Economics. Her dissertation was published as The Japanese Community in Pre-war Britain: From Integration to Disintegration (Curzon Press, 2001), a social history of the small Japanese community in interwar London, a community to which her grandfather and mother belonged. She co-curated two exhibitions with Momoko Williams: Japanese in Britain 1863–2001 (2001) and Human Bridge: 150 Years of Anglo-Japanese Friendship and Commerce (2008). She authored a novel My Shanghai, a fictional account drawn from her mother’s experience.
She married an Englishman and has two grown-up daughters.
About the Japan Association in the UK (JA)
The Japan Association in the UK (JA) was established in November 1996 with the aim of fostering a sense of community and providing mutual support for the growing number of Japanese residents in the United Kingdom. Officially registered as a charity in January 2012, the organization promotes friendship, volunteerism and community welfare, while fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom through a range of social, cultural and educational activities. In 2026, the JA celebrates its 30th anniversary.