Event forms part of programme of collaboration under UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
The UK and Japan hosted a dynamic full-day forum at the UK Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, focused on advancing Women's Economic Empowerment through trade, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
On 8 August 2025, the UK and Japan hosted an event at the UK Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, for women entrepreneurs in trade. This event forms part of a continuing programme of collaboration under the Women's Economic Empowerment chapter of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), reaffirming our shared commitment to reducing systemic barriers for women seeking to trade internationally and promoting inclusive economic growth. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate our joint commitments for cooperation in support of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) seeking to trade between our two nations.
The day began with opening remarks from Carolyn Davidson, UK Commissioner General for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, setting the tone for a series of engaging sessions. The first panel explored how to create societies where women can thrive, featuring senior leaders from the UK and Japan, including Michiko Achilles, Board Director, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Misako Hamamura, VP and General Manager, Japan Alexion Pharma GK, Tina McKenzie MBE, Policy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses and June Miyachi, Regional Director President & CEO, Cartier Japan, who shared insights on leadership and inclusion.
A speed mentoring session followed, where participants engaged directly with senior women in business across sectors - from finance and pharmaceuticals to hospitality and innovation. This interactive format fostered meaningful dialogue and practical advice sharing.
The spotlight then turned to women entrepreneurs and SMEs across the UK and Japan. Moderated by Kate Maxwell from the UK Department for Business and Trade, the session highlighted the opportunities and challenges faced by women-led enterprises, with speakers including Ayana Misawa, Head of Viticulture and Oenology, Grace Wine, Erika Kanai, Senior Associate, ANRI and Keiko Yata, VP of Business Development APAC, TTP plc, sharing their journeys and strategies for success.
The final session offered practical guidance on accessing current business opportunities, featuring contributions from Sarah Backley, Executive Director British Chamber of Commerce in Japan and Rachna Ratra, Managing Director of the Tokyo office Robert Walters.
The event concluded with remarks from Shige Watanabe, Ambassador for Economic Diplomacy at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by a networking reception that encouraged further exchanges and collaboration.
Empowering women economically is a catalyst for innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth. Increasing women's participation in the economy not only strengthens gender equality, but holds huge potential for boosting economic growth. Trade can dramatically improve women's lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women's power in society. We are proud that our UK-Japan CEPA was the first UK FTA to include a dedicated chapter on Women's Economic Empowerment. Where women business owners do participate in trade, they are most likely to be concentrated in SMEs. SMEs make up a high proportion of UK businesses exporting to Japan and are important to the UK economy as they make up 99.8% of the UK business population. There is substantial scope to increase the proportion of SMEs and therefore women led businesses that engage in exporting, and the value that SME exports generate.
We will continue to proactively cooperate with our partners including Japan to break down barriers to trade for women and to support women-owned businesses to access the opportunities of trade.
Carolyn Davidson, Commissioner General for the UK at Expo: "I was proud to host the Women's Economic Empowerment Forum at the UK pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, which was a powerful reflection of the UK's expo theme: "Come build the future". By connecting trailblazing female entrepreneurs from across the UK and Japan, our event created new opportunities for trade and investment between our countries, supporting inclusive economic growth and deepening our people-to-people connections"
