The UK-Japan relationship has reached an all-time high, anchored by a powerful alliance in science and technology. This momentum is driven by high-impact collaboration - including our Strategic Cyber Partnership (2026), Economic Security and Industrial Strategy Partnerships (2025), Semiconductor Partnership (2023), and Digital Partnership (2022) - all of which build upon the enduring foundation of the 1994 Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology.

As each other’s closest security partners in Europe and Asia respectively, the UK and Japan are uniquely positioned to harness our shared innovation capabilities. By working together as like-minded nations, our science and technology relationship will deliver high-value growth and technological agency. This collaboration will leverage our complementary strengths to enhance our economic and national security in an era of growing geopolitical unpredictability with the overarching goal of achieving peace, prosperity and stability for the international community.

In January 2026, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi announced their intent to work together to progress high priority frontier technology challenges, harnessing our foundational science and technology strengths to bolster mutual economic growth and economic resilience.

This Frontier Technology Partnership will deliver that commitment, combining the UK’s world-class software and research leadership with Japan’s unparalleled hardware and manufacturing power to support collaboration across our distinct yet highly compatible industrial bases. It accelerates and advances our nations’ ambitions as set out in the UK’s Industrial Strategy and Japan’s Growth Strategy.

We will build on our deep and valued science and technology relationship, setting out a shared ambition to go further, with a focus on the technologies that are most crucial for the future and with innovation ecosystems based on security, safety, trust and cooperation.

Both the UK and Japan have identified emerging technologies that are critical for the flourishing of each nation. These are technologies that are already fundamentally disrupting economies and societies across the world.

The UK and Japan recognise that now is the moment to invest in these technologies and work together as like-minded and complementary innovation ecosystems.

We will deepen our efforts to counter and deter novel and emerging biological threats as part of our broader approach to dual-use S&T, strengthening our shared commitment to non-proliferation, and our strategic approaches to enhancing biological security as part of our wider cooperation on science and technology.

Alongside this Statement, the UK and Japan welcome commercial announcements by industry partners launching collaborative projects in critical technology sectors identified in the UK-Japan Industrial Strategy Partnership such as Quantum, AI and Cybersecurity. These commercial initiatives demonstrate the real-world practical and economic benefit of our partnership on Frontier Technology.

This Frontier Technology Partnership does not constitute or create any legally binding obligations.  Nothing in this Partnership is intended to alter or affect any existing agreements between the Participants. Cooperation is intended to take place within the framework of applicable national legislation and international obligations.

Signed in duplicate at London on 14 June 2026 in the English language

For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

Prime Minister Keir Starmer

For the Government of Japan:

Prime Minister TAKAICHI Sanae