Tokyo – London Collaboration

Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, and Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of London, have signed and concluded the Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of London Corporation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, on 4 December 2017. The Lord Mayor works closely with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, although they have distinct and separate responsibilities.

The two cities have a long history of collaboration across many sectors which have contributed to the economic development and prosperity in their respective countries and in the world. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), which is the administrative body of the metro area, and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), are already working together on an agenda to revitalise Tokyo’s financial sector. The Financial Services sector is one of the key areas that continues to undergo transformation at an international level. In recognition of this the City of London Corporation (CoLC) and the TMG will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further deepen their exchange and collaboration in financial services, so that the two international financial centres can mutually prosper and grow. In addition, TheCityUK, as the industry body for UK-based financial and related professional services, has launched a Japan Market Advisory Group (MAG) of industry experts and is taking forward a programme to strengthen collaboration between financial and related professional services in the UK and Japan and this practitioner activity will complement cooperation between the two cities.

Collaboration Objectives

Working toward this goal, while the CoLC and TMG will deepen their examination of concrete actions, both parties hereby agree to commence consideration on their cooperation in the following
areas:

  • Cooperation in financial sector meetings, forums and information sharing between both cities.
  • Cooperation in building a wider alliance programme in the education sector.
  • Cooperation in developing and promoting Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investment and green finance.
  • Cooperation in conducting promotional activities as international financial centres.

Tokyo has sister city relationships with many capitals of the world, including

  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Cairo
  • London
  • Moscow
  • New York
  • Paris
  • Rome
  • Seoul

Information Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Image Source: Bureau of Port and Harbor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Tokyo and London are both G8x8 territories. The former is ranking first in GDP among Japanese prefectures, placing it at the 3×1 position. London ranks first among top level areas of the United Kingdom to take the 5×1 field on the board. Tokyo takes a share of 18.3% of the total GDP of Japan. London posted a GDP share of 22.7 percent of the UK national total.