The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 June 2026.
Context
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.
Commitment
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.
- We will promote and protect these critical and emerging technologies through government co-operation and coordinated, targeted R&D support.
- We will generate growth and build a competitive edge by mobilising private capital towards strategic technologies, fostering commercial collaboration and supporting high-potential companies to emerge and scale.
- We will shape the development of critical technologies and safeguard our shared values through multilateral coordination on international standards and regulation.
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 have a shared vision and ambition:
- Together, the UK and Japan will be AI makers and not just AI takers, fostering resilient, safe, secure, and trustworthy AI ecosystems and enhancing our national AI capabilities. We have committed to promoting ties between our respective AI innovation ecosystems, advancing joint research to unlock the power of AI for Science, and exploring formal pathways to interlock our AI semiconductor strengths. We reaffirm the need for a stable and safe AI supply chain, and recognise the importance of promoting efforts, in cooperation with diversified partners and suppliers to enhance the resilience of AI supply chains. We will deepen cooperation between Japan AISI and UK AISI in driving forward the science of AI evaluation through the International Network for Advanced AI Measurement, Evaluation and Science. Furthermore, we will work to further promote the Hiroshima AI Process and to explore synergies between our respective initiatives on AI cooperation with the Global South in co-creating a safe, secure, and trustworthy AI ecosystem globally. We concurred on establishing a high-level dialogue on AI to advance cooperation in these priority areas and supporting Japan toward hosting a successful AI Summit following Switzerland in 2027.
- We will develop globally competitive, commercially scalable and deployable quantum technologies, including computing, sensing and communications, building on our Quantum Memorandum of Cooperation (2025). We will strengthen the connection between the UK and Japan’s quantum computing capabilities. UK and Japanese businesses will export, invest, and conduct R&D in one another’s markets, and both governments are committed to joint, long-term collaboration on quantum high-performance computing (HPC) integration. In parallel, we will advance practical applications of quantum technologies across computing, sensing, communication and networking domains through strengthened cooperation on testbeds, evaluation frameworks and system integration.
- We will work in close collaboration to explore new approaches to mobilise investment and accelerate innovation in the next generation of defence and dual-use technologies.
- 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.
- We will drive forward shared priorities on space through the UK-Japan Space Consultation, including space security, space sustainability, and commercial development, pursuing opportunities for joint industry-led research under JAXA and the UK Space Agency, including on satellite communications technologies to protect and enhance the vital networks that underpin our nations’ shared security and prosperity.
- We will shape advanced connectivity technologies to ensure that future telecoms networks are secure and resilient and address the needs of our societies and economies. This will include delivering on our joint research programme and working through the Global Coalition on Telecommunications to implement the 6G Security & Resilience Principles.
- We will deepen efforts to decommission our nuclear legacies more efficiently and safely, furthering the collaboration between our cutting-edge robotics capabilities to solve some of the world’s most complex engineering challenges—more efficient and safer decommissioning of nuclear sites like Sellafield and TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
- We will deepen efforts to develop civil nuclear collaboration, including advanced nuclear technologies and fusion energy, by strengthening practical cooperation between industry and research institutions in the UK and Japan.
- We will build resilience to cyber threats, reinforcing and strengthening long term cyber cooperation through the UK-Japan Strategic Cyber Partnership, welcoming industry-led initiatives that harness complementary capabilities and working together to strengthen the resilience of critical national infrastructure against the full range of cyber threats facing the UK and Japan.
- We will work together to protect critical and emerging technologies through deepening cooperation on research security, recognising the need to manage risks associated with those technologies, while supporting open, secure, and trusted international research collaboration. We commit to working bilaterally and with like-minded partners to share information on policy measures to reduce loss of critical technology. This work will be complementary to the Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation.
- We will work together to promote research and development in the field of healthcare whilst building our capabilities as globally connected world-leading hubs for drug discovery.
Commercial Announcements
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