A new season of UK-Japan cooperation and friendship

It is hard to imagine where we will be in 30 years’ time or what each of us will be doing.

The only thing we know is that we want the friendship between the UK and Japan to continue strong into the future.

Welcome to the Sakura Cherry Tree Project to plant a legacy for future generations.

Our project covers the whole UK. Parks, gardens and schools which will receive trees are located in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

British Ambassador to Japan

Paul Madden

The British Embassy in Tokyo and its neighbourhood is one of the most famous areas in Tokyo for viewing cherry blossoms, so I am very conscious of the beauty of the sakura season.

I would like to warmly congratulate all those in the Japanese business community who have made possible this wonderful gift of cherry blossoms, to bring a little piece of Japan to so many locations around the UK.

I hope that we will see the practice of hanami parties spreading round Britain too. It is particularly pleasing that one of the varieties chosen is the taihaku, or “great white”, which had become extinct in Japan, and was re-introduced from the UK. In the garden of my Residence in Tokyo is a taihaku planted by HRH the Duke of Cambridge: a vivid symbol of the depth of the UK/Japan relationship.

Former Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom

Koji Tsuruoka

The Sakura Cherry Tree Project came about with the desire of the Japanese to share the sakura trees with their friends in the UK. From its grassroots beginning, it was welcomed by the Prime Ministers of both countries.

This Project is part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, which aims to celebrate the friendship between our two countries. Thousands of cherry trees planted in parks, schools and public spaces will grow as a symbol of the longstanding friendship that has evolved between our two countries and will continue to do so. I would like to express my utmost appreciation to those who have helped bring the Sakura Cherry Tree Project into being.