Only Boys Aloud performing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Eluned Hâf
When Wales Day at Osaka Expo 2025 recorded the highest footfall of any nation in the British Pavilion this April, it wasn’t just a moment of celebration – it was confirmation of something deeper. Guests included Kitakyushu and Oita cities who hosted the Wales Men’s team during the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and whose citizens made their own headlines with animated support for Wales.
We share a rich cultural bond with Japan that has been formative for both nations and has only been strengthened during the year of Wales and Japan 2025.
During the closing weekend where Radio 1 DJ Siân Eleri curated British Council’s Selector After Dark sessions featuring Twst, electronic artist from Barry, we reflected on the historic moment in 1970 where the Prince of Wales met Sony co-founder Akio Morita, sparking a conversation that would transform both nations.
That initial conversation led Sony to establish its Bridgend manufacturing site, which began producing record decks before expanding to colour televisions. Today, the facility continues as Sony UK Technology Centre, producing broadcast equipment and Raspberry Pi computers—a testament to how cultural dialogue can seed lasting economic and technological partnerships.
But the Wales-Japan story runs far deeper than industrial success. It’s a narrative written in shared values around innovation, language preservation, and the courage to imagine differently.
Innovation as cultural practice
Next year marks the 25th anniversary of a moment that perfectly captures this relationship. In 2001, Sony Music Japan released Super Furry Animals’ Rings Around the World —the world’s first album simultaneously released on audio CD and DVD. This was the kind of bold innovation and experimentation that both Welsh and Japanese creative industries have championed.
That spirit continues today. Last month, Super Furry Animals’ keyboardist Cian Ciarán premiered his re-edition of the Rhys a Meinir composition at teamLab Borderless, the world’s leading digital arts museum in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Welsh creative Mark James – regular collaborator with the Super Furry Animals who works frequently in Japan – curated Keltronika, a night celebrating the cross-pollination between Welsh and Japanese electronic music cultures. James’ 2024 installation Under Neon Loneliness at Cardiff Central Station during Cardiff Music City Festival drew direct inspiration from Tokyo and from the Manic Street Preachers’ enduring popularity in Japan, demonstrating how these cultural exchanges flow in both directions and across generations of artists.
The Japanese music scene’s embrace of minority Celtic languages tells its own story. When Japanese electronic musician Cornelius remixed Gwenno’s “Utopia” last month, it demonstrated how Japan’s music industry engages with distinctive linguistic sounds—Gwenno’s work spans both Welsh and Cornish, the latter a seriously endangered Celtic language. Language isn’t a barrier in these collaborations – it’s an instrument.
Gwenno performing at Keltronika in Tokyo
Artist Jonathan Edwards’ journey exemplifies how strategic investment creates lasting impact. In 2011, Wales Arts International supported Edwards with a small grant to undertake two arts residencies and research visit to Japan. His portfolio of work in Japan has since flourished—this year, his design was commissioned as the official Eki stamp, a form of commemorative stamp often found at train stations in tourist locations, for the Year of Wales and Japan, a prestigious honour that places Welsh art in key locations and events across both countries.
These contemporary connections build on deeper foundations. Studio Ghibli’s relationship with Wales stems from director Hayao Miyazaki’s 1984 visit, which inspired the Welsh mining towns and medieval castles depicted in Laputa: Castle in the Sky. From Miyazaki’s sketches of Cyfartha Castle to Edwards’ Eki stamp, Wales has been woven into Japan’s visual imagination for decades.
Cultural diplomacy with purpose
The Wales Japan 2025 Cultural Programme has demonstrated what’s possible when cultural exchange is built on mutual respect and genuine curiosity. One standout example was the creative industries showcase at the British Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, where 70 key players from Japan’s creative industries gathered for an evening that exemplified how culture opens doors for sector-wide connection.
Guests enjoyed a performance from Wales’ Only Boys Aloud choir in the residence garden before Gwenno’s first-ever solo performance in Japan—a moment that brought together Welsh musical tradition and contemporary innovation. The evening also featured Gwenno sharing a booklet by artist Edrica Huws, whose work documents a remarkable multi-generational family story of connecting Wales and Japan through culture.
Only Boys Aloud at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Equally significant was the panel discussion “Nurturing the Future Through the Arts” held at the Kita Noh Theatre in Tokyo, marking the 10th anniversary of Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act. The event brought together Noh master Takanori Sakaguchi and world-leading Wales-based Japanese metal artist Junko Mori for a profound exploration of how traditional and contemporary arts contribute to sustainable societies. Despite their seemingly different artistic practices—Noh theatre and contemporary metalwork—the discussion revealed striking common ground: the rigorous discipline of repeated practice, the spirituality embedded in process, and a shared vision of cherishing the past, enriching the present, and building a better future.
The evening also marked the Japanese physical premiere of Pethau Bychain, a documentary inspired by St David’s mantra of doing the small things that can change the world and curated by writer Iestyn Tyne. The film features seven artists – including Junko Mori – to respond to the Well-being of Future Generations Act through their creative practice. The film is now available globally on S4C’s Clic platform with Japanese subtitles, ensuring this exploration of how artists contribute to sustainable futures reaches audiences beyond the event itself.
From these high-level events to grassroots collaborations like Plas Glyn-y-Weddw’s partnership with Mt Fuji Wood Culture Society —which will see an artist exchange in November and December and master wood carvers join the Coed Coexist exhibition in Pen Llŷn in May 2026 – we’re seeing relationships that create space for artists to learn from each other’s traditions while forging new forms.
Celebrating Wales-Japan Cooperation at the Embassy of Japan
Perhaps most significantly, we’ve witnessed the power of Indigenous language solidarity across vastly different circumstances. When Theatr Cymru performed Dawns y Ceirw, their co-production with National Dance Company Wales and created by Casi Wyn at UPOPOY, the National Ainu Museum and Park, they shared Wales’ experience staging Welsh-language performances for non-Welsh-speaking audiences using their Sibrwd platform. The challenges facing these languages are starkly different in scale – with Welsh speaker numbers dropping below 20% of the population for the first time in the latest census, while Ainu is estimated to be spoken fluently by only 10-15 people – yet the exchange of practical approaches to language preservation carries profound significance.
What makes this particularly hopeful is witnessing Japan’s technological innovation being directed toward cultural preservation. If any nation can transform a cultural challenge into an opportunity through technology, Japan can. Just as Japanese support has helped Cymraeg develop digital tools and resources over decades, Wales’ sharing of the Sibrwd platform represents a small but meaningful contribution to the Ainu language’s future.
Building legacy beyond the programme year
As we approach the end of this celebratory year, the question isn’t whether Wales and Japan’s cultural connections have value. The footfall at Osaka Expo and the depth of collaborative projects answer that definitively. The question is how we ensure these relationships continue to flourish.
The creative sector needs these connections more than ever, and the business case has never been clearer. Japan’s government has positioned its content industry—spanning anime, games, manga, and film—as a core economic pillar, setting an ambitious target of 20 trillion yen (approximately £100 billion) in overseas content sales by 2033. This represents more than quadrupling current levels and reflects how the content industry has leapfrogged even semiconductors and steel to become Japan’s second-largest export sector after automobiles.
Dawns y Ceirw by Theatr Cymru
This isn’t soft diplomacy with vague benefits – it’s strategic investment in a demonstrably growing market. When a country with Japan’s industrial legacy positions creative industries at the heart of its economic future, Wales should pay attention. Our creative sector offers distinctive value in this landscape: authenticity rooted in language and place, innovation that doesn’t sacrifice cultural identity, and storytelling traditions that resonate precisely because they come from somewhere specific.
The Wales-Japan relationship models something different from the dominant global cultural paradigm: exchange that celebrates distinctiveness rather than seeking to smooth it away. Japanese audiences don’t want Wales to be less Welsh; they’re drawn to our work precisely because of its rootedness in our language, landscapes, and traditions. Similarly, Welsh artists are inspired by Japan’s dual commitment to tradition and innovation. Genuine exchange that benefits both nations’
A model for values-led partnership
What makes the Wales-Japan relationship particularly significant is how it aligns with Wales’ broader approach to international engagement. The Well-being of Future Generations Act positions culture as fundamental to sustainable development—not an add-on, but a pillar.
Both nations understand that small can be significant. Wales has never sought to compete with cultural superpowers by imitating their scale; instead, we’ve offered something distinctive. Japan, despite its economic might, has maintained cultural practices that prioritize depth over breadth, quality over quantity. This shared sensibility has allowed our creative communities to meet as equals, despite vastly different scales.
Looking forward
The legacy of Wales Japan 2025 shouldn’t be measured solely in the number of projects delivered or audiences reached—though both have exceeded expectations. The real legacy will be in the relationships forged, the collaborative models developed, and the confidence built across both creative sectors.
My hope is that everyone who has been supported to work in Japan this year will continue to develop opportunities in Japan, whilst engaging Japanese creators in our cultural life in Wales.
From that initial Expo conversation in 1970 to Cian Ciaran performing at teamLab Borderless in 2025, Wales and Japan have demonstrated what’s possible when cultural exchange is approached with ambition, respect, and genuine commitment. As we document this year’s achievements and make our case to Welsh Government for sustained support, we’re not just reporting on successful cultural programming—we’re evidencing a model of international partnership that serves both economic and social policy goals.
Eluned Hâf in Japan
The highest footfall at the British Pavilion wasn’t accidental. It reflected decades of relationship-building, a year of intensive programming, and two nations’ shared belief that culture matters. Now it’s our responsibility to ensure this momentum doesn’t dissipate but instead becomes the foundation for the next 50 years of Wales-Japan creative partnership.
The conversation that began with record decks in Bridgend continues with digital art in Tokyo, wood carving in Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, and Ainu language revitalization at UPOPOY. That’s not nostalgia – it’s the sound of a relationship that keeps evolving, keeps innovating, and keeps reminding us why cultural exchange isn’t a luxury but a necessity.
Eluned Haf is Head of Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Wales
The Wales Japan 2025 Cultural Programme has been delivered by Wales Arts International in partnership with Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government, and the British Council, as part of the Welsh Government led Year of Wales and Japan 2025.
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