MoU Signing Between London and Tokyo Aims to Bolster Collaborations

The City of London Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which will result in closer collaboration between the financial and professional services sectors in both cities. The signing ceremony took place at the British Embassy, Tokyo.

Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman, signed the MoU via a video conference with the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, in Japan this morning.

The four-year agreement will aim to boost cooperation in a number of areas including:

• FinTech and innovation;
• asset management;
• developing international standards in areas like green finance and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment; and
• promoting, retaining and growing mutual investment activity in light of Brexit.

The signing of the MoU comes in advance of next year’s visit to Japan by the City of London Lord Mayor Alderman Charles Bowman in May 2018.

Commenting on today’s agreement, the Lord Mayor said:

“I am delighted to sign the Memorandum of Understanding today alongside the Governor of Tokyo.

“Our great cities have a long history of collaboration across many sectors, and I am confident that the signing of the agreement today will lead to even greater cooperation.

“Last year we saw record growth in trade in the field of financial and professional services between the UK and Japan – with UK exports rising by nearly £1.3 billion. This shows the tremendous role the UK already plays in this area, and the amount of knowledge and expertise we have to offer.”

The signing was followed by a panel discussion in Tokyo with specialists in the sector from the UK and Japan. A member of the City of London Corporation also took part in the panel.