Global conversations
The 7 most intense hours of the year! Regular readers will have noticed my absence over the last couple of months. I feel guilty to have neglected my blogging duties, but work has been incredibly busy, and for good reason. Last week, as many of you will have seen, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, visited Japan. For the Embassy his visit was an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the relationship … Read more »Prime Minister’s visit
One of the clear lessons of 2011 was that social media and the internet were no longer tools limited to changing the lives of people in the developed, democratic world. Tools that had radically altered the retail industry, changed the way people interacted with each other socially and challenged conventional news gathering took on new importance in the Arab Spring, as they become tools for democratisation and radical social change. … Read more »Does the internet change government as well as how it speaks?
Last week George Osborne visited Japan for the final leg of a tour of East Asia that started in Hong Kong and took in Beijing before arriving in Tokyo. His remarks in China, that Britain and British business neglected the opportunities in Asia at our peril, were widely picked up on in the media. However, some perhaps made the mistake of thinking “Asia” was simply code for China. But his … Read more »Chancellor’s visit helps to keep UK-Japanese relationship on track
After the upheavals of 2011, it feels good to start 2012 on a cautiously optimistic note. A door that has been closed for decades is beginning to open, as the government of Burma makes tentative moves towards democratisation. Recognising this historic shift, the British Foreign Secretary visited the country last week, his first visit of 2012 and the first visit of a British Foreign Secretary since 1955. The visit does … Read more »A long closed door begins to open – Burma and the world reengage
Saturday 3 December is International Day for Persons with Disabilities. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness, to mark the progress that has been made so far, but also to flag the distance we’ve still got to go. The UK’s Office for Disability Issues was set up in 2005 to coordinate disability policy across government. Since then ODI has led the way across government, encouraging best practice, co-production and engagement with … Read more »Giving everyone the same chance
It often seems these days that there is little new to discover, no frontiers left to cross and, just as you start dreaming about visiting an improbably exotic location, someone on your Facebook list of friends will suddenly have been there and posted an entire gallery of photos. Boutique hotels in the remotest of places have reduced the challenges of travelling off the beaten path. But for those of us … Read more »The Age of Adventure lives on
The Prime Minister in September launched a campaign in New York to promote the UK as a place to visit and a place to do business. The GREAT campaign, focussing on what’s great about the UK (ranging from shopping and innovation to creativity and entrepreneurs) is designed to remind people what we’re great at and to challenge a few preconceptions. Expect a lot more on the GREAT campaign in Japan … Read more »GREAT British pub food challenges your preconceptions, but not your wallet
Many of you will have read that the Prime Minister had to postpone his planned visit to Japan as a result of the Eurozone crisis. The Japanese government, like the UK keen to see a solution to a crisis, was understanding. So, has this left us at a loose end? Not at all, for a very good reason – the Prime Minister’s visit to Japan, when rescheduled, will be the … Read more »Many sides to UK interest in Japan
It’s hard to imagine a world without the internet. It’s enabling commerce in ways unimagined by our parents and empowering people to take control of their own lives in societies with little freedom. It keeps us in touch with old friends and enables people separated by thousands of miles to use their own computers together to scan space for life. It connects people from one end of the world to … Read more »How do you preserve what’s best about the Web?
Not by the individual, but by the state The threat of execution hanging over Iranian church leader Youcef Nadarkhani (the Foreign Secretary has issued a statement) is shocking. At a time when most of us enjoy historically unparalleled personal freedoms, the idea that in some parts of the world people could be threatened with death for thought or faith beggars belief. New charges levelled at Nadarkhani, including extortion, rape, Zionism … Read more »Crimes against thought