Relations between Britain and Japan extend back more than 400 years. Listed below are some of the major events in that history.

1600

Will Adams, a seaman from Kent, becomes the first Briton to arrive in Japan. Acting as an advisor to the Tokugawa Shogun, he is granted a house and land, and spends the rest of his life in his adopted country.

1832

Otokichi, Kyukichi and Iwakichi, sailors from Aichi, set sail from Japan to cross the Pacific. After arriving in the USA they join a trading ship to the UK, and later Macau. Believed to be the first Japanese to set foot on British soil, one of them, Otokichi, takes British citizenship and adopts the name John Matthew Ottoson. He later makes two visits to Japan as an interpreter for the Royal Navy.

1858

After 200 years of attempts by the East India Company and others to expand trade with Japan, the Earl of Elgin concludes a treaty which, in addition to opening selected Japanese ports, also secures the first permanent British diplomatic mission in Edo.

1859

Sir Rutherford Alcock, the first permanent British representative in Japan, arrives in a climate of rapidly developing trade relations. Exchange of information and ideas also proceeds quickly, most notably with the decision of the Choshu clan to send five students to University College, London. The 'Choshu Five' return with extensive knowledge which will play an important part in the construction of modern Japan.

1863

A British fleet bombards Kagoshima in retaliation for the murder of a British merchant by the Satsuma clan a year earlier. The incident is reflective of the still delicate relationship between the two countries.

1868

The Meiji Restoration heralds increasing Japanese interest in foreign ideas. Trade, and the British community in Japan, continue to thrive.

1869

The Duke of Edinburgh (Queen Victoria's second son) visits Japan, the first of what will become a long series of visits by members of the Royal and Imperial Families.

1870

Foreign Minister Iwakura leads an 18-month mission to Britain, reflecting the two countries' increasingly strong bilateral relations.

1902

The signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance affirms the friendship between Britain and Japan, and leads in turn to still closer cooperation.

1910

The Great Britain-Japan Exhibition brings knowledge of Japan and its people to a wide number of Britons.

1914

The start of the First World War sees Britain and Japan fighting on the same side.

1921

Prince Hirohito visits Britain, the first time a Japanese Crown Prince has been allowed to travel overseas.

1941

The relationship cools as the political events of the 1930s unfold, and in December 1941 Britain and Japan formally go to war. British and Japanese citizens living in each others' territories will be confined: some will be repatriated but others will be imprisoned for the duration of the war. And many British and Commonwealth soldiers and civilians in Asia will become prisoners of war. Their experiences will cast a deep shadow of the relationship for many years.

1951

The Treaty of San Francisco brings a formal end to wartime hostilities. Both countries begin working to rebuild the relationship.

1953

The British Council is established in Japan, with the aim of promoting Britain and its culture, educational system and economy.

1961

Princess Alexandra's visit to Japan, along with Prince Hirohito's attendance at the Queen's Coronation in 1953, re-establishes links between the Royal and Imperial Families.

1970

The Osaka Expo, following on from the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, cements Japan's restoration to the international community and sets the stage for a long-lasting boom in UK-Japan relations.

1971

YKK becomes the first Japanese company to open a factory in the UK.

1975

Queen Elizabeth II makes a State Visit to Japan.

1988

Sanko Gosei, in conjunction with Marubeni, becomes the 100th Japanese company to invest in the UK.

1989

A high-point for economic relations as some 50 Japanese companies invest in the UK within the year.

1991

The Japanese Government holds a festival of Japan in the UK, bringing many British people into contact with Japanese culture for the first time.

1995

The foreign ministers of the two countries endorse a UK-Japan Action Agenda, proposing in concrete terms ways to develop cooperation. The Action-Agenda, regularly reviewed and updated, will continue to underpin the development of the relationship.

1998

The British Government holds a festival of the UK in Japan, known as UK98. Prime Minister Blair visits Japan to launch the festival, and during the year the Emporer makes a State Visit to the UK.

1999

Following the opening of a new British Consulate in Nagoya in 1995, Britain opens a Trade Promotion Office in Fukuoka.

2001

10 years on from the first festival of Japan in the UK, the Japanese Government holds second year-long event, Japan 2001. The Japanese Crown Prince visits the UK to attend the opening ceremony with the Prince of Wales.

2002

To celebrate the centenary of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the British Embassy in Tokyo launches a campaign to plant English oak trees in every prefecture in Japan.

2008

2008 marks the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Japan, stemming from the Anglo Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858. To celebrate this anniversary, the British government is holding UK-Japan 2008, a year to celebrate the best of creative and contemporary UK and promote UK-Japanese collaboration.