Tonight the City played hosted to a delegation from Tokyo, building on our strong connections to ensure our future trade with Japan remains strong. It was a pleasure to meet Governor Koike who was visiting the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman. Yuriko Koike, the first female Governor of Tokyo shared her vision for Tokyo as it prepares to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This visit focused on her financial and environmental policies and the opportunities for collaboration between Tokyo and London.
She was joined by representatives of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and business leaders. The visit is part of the on going efforts following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the City of London Corporation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for collaboration in areas such as financial events, financial educational programs, green finance, etc.
The event was supported by our MP and FCO Minister for Asia, the Rt. Hon. Mark Field, and it gave me an opportunity to discuss with him the work we are doing to maintain the City's competiveness in our changing arrangements with Europe. An excellent evening, and a very positive view of the future that our relationship with Japan might offer bi-laterally and as part of the potential UK involvement in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which I the UK Government is consulting on right now.