WALES will celebrate its connections with Japan today when the country's UK ambassador begins an official visit.

Hayashi Hajime will visit a Japanese-owned battery factory in Ebbw Vale, the National Museum of History at St Fagans, and meet members of the Wales Japan Club in Cardiff.

This will be the first time the ambassador has visited Wales and his programme has been arranged by Welsh Government.

Ahead of the visit, first minister Mark Drakeford said Wales and Japan shared a "deep-rooted friendship with strong links" in trade, research and devlopement, education and culture.  

“I look forward to reaffirming our commitment to the Wales-Japan relationship and discussing new and growing areas for collaboration, such as our shared ambition to reach net zero by 2050," Drakeford added.

Keith Dunn, the honorary consul for Japan in Wales, said the ambassador wanted to "deepen his understanding of Welsh politics, the economy and culture".

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Ties between the two nations can be traced back to the 19th century, with the market for Welsh coal and steel helping foster relations with Japan, Dunn said. Today, there are more than 60 Japanese-owned companies in Wales, employing more than 8,000 people.

In recent times Welsh exports to Japan have risen to be worth £1billion over the past five years. Some of the produce that Wales exports to Japan includes: Welsh lamb, Anglesey sea salt, Carmarthen ham, Conwy mussels, Pembrokeshire early potatoes, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly cheese, Traditional Welsh cider, laver bread, Welsh beef, Welsh wine, bottled water and Welsh whisky.

Coming in the other direction are Japanese goods that make up 3.7 per cent of all Welsh imports, worth £521 million last year.

Connections have also been built through sport and culture. Thousand of Welsh fans travelled to Japan in 2019 for the Rugby World Cup, and this summer our athletes will head there to compete in the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

More than 600 cherry trees have been planted in Wales as a gift of friendship from the Japanese people, and this winter another 200 will arrive as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project.

  • This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.