Reflections from our Head Of Arts, Elena Schmitz on her visit to Japan, October 2025
When the Welsh Government announced 2025 as the Year of Wales and Japan, the aim was simple: to celebrate the ties between our two nations and explore how our cultural sectors could learn from one another. Over the autumn, the initiative evolved into a rich season of exchanges, revealing how deeply artists, producers, and cultural leaders from both countries connect over shared ideas, challenges, and ambitions.
My visit to Japan in October 2025 coincided with a pivotal moment in the Wales-Japan relationship. The Wales Japan Cultural Programme supported by Wales Arts International, the British Council and the Welsh Government, showcased over 20 projects across music, film, visual arts, literature, language, digital technology and performance. Marking the 10th anniversary of Wales’s Well-being of Future Generations Act, it provided a rare opportunity to bring together artists, policymakers, and creative organisations around shared priorities: cultural wellbeing, sustainability, innovation and long-term international partnership.
Bringing Welsh voices to Osaka
These priorities were visible on the global stage during the closing weekend of Expo 2025 Osaka. At the UK-Japan Music and Creative Technology Industry Event, the UK delegation explored new models of creative production and global audience engagement with artists, researchers, technologists, and creative organisations.
Welsh musicians Cian Ciarán and Twst shared experiences of international collaboration and digital innovation. Twst’s reflections on using platforms such as Discord to build an international fanbase resonated with Japanese conversations on online creative communities.
At the UK Pavilion, partners including Watershed, Media Cymru, and SxSW London joined discussions on emerging creative tools. Selector Radio - the British Council’s flagship global music show, broadcasting new UK music worldwide - extended the momentum into the evening with live performances. Twst’s dynamic set, in particular, demonstrated how new Welsh talent resonates internationally.
Tokyo: cultural exchange and partnership-building
Moving on to Tokyo, the focus shifted from performance to partnership-building. The Wales Creative Showcase at the British Embassy brought together an impressive mix of Japanese stakeholders from creative industries, technology, media, government, and culture. It was one of the most visible opportunities of the week to present Wales as a confident, outward-looking creative nation, grounded in bilingualism, sustainability, and social responsibility.
The influence of the Well-being of Future Generations Act on Wales’s creative industries was woven throughout the event. For many Japanese partners, the connection between legislation, cultural expression, and long-term societal benefit was compelling, anchoring conversations about future collaboration. Performances by Gwenno and Only Boys Aloud highlighted Wales’s cultural identity, from individual creativity to the collective power of youth voices.
Other highlights in Tokyo included Junko Mori’s metalwork exhibition at Kita Noh Theatre, a panel discussion on cultural wellbeing marking the release of Pethau Bychain - a Wales Arts International film exploring the impact of creative practice on wellbeing - and Only Boys Aloud’s moving performance at Tokyo’s Anglican Church, giving many of their young singers their first international experience.
Shared priorities and future pathways
Throughout the week, meetings with partners such as Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Arts Council Tokyo, and the British Council Japan team deepened our understanding of Japan’s priorities for supporting creative industries. Discussions around intellectual property, games, music, anime, and media exports revealed strong parallels with Welsh Government, Creative Wales and Arts Council of Wales priorities, opening new possibilities for reciprocal learning and co-investment.
The Keltronica event - a cross-cultural collaboration between four Welsh artists and Japanese creatives - brought together Gwenno’s multilingual performance, Cian Ciarán’s Rhys a Meinir documentary, Dean Lligwy’s ambient soundscapes, and Mark James’s visual works, creating a vivid meeting of Welsh and Japanese perspectives. Another highlight was presenting a reinterpretation for two self-playing pianos of Rhys a Meinir within the immersive environment of teamLab Borderless, with Director Takashi Kudo and his team supporting installations and exploring future possibilities. The collaboration reflected the deep trust built between artists and institutions over years of exchange.
Looking ahead
What stood out across the visit was the maturity of the Wales–Japan cultural relationship. These are not new connections; they are relationships strengthened over years of exchange, built on mutual respect and a shared curiosity about the intersections of tradition, technology, creativity and identity.
The Team Cymru approach - combining cultural programming, trade missions, Embassy events, and Expo showcases - helped amplify Wales’s presence and created a more cohesive voice. It demonstrated what can be achieved when institutions collaborate and laid strong foundations for the next phase of cultural exchange.
There is clear appetite on both sides to continue this work. The themes that resonate - cultural wellbeing, sustainability, storytelling, creative technologies, and deepening cultural identity - are long-term areas of shared interest. With new partnerships forming and existing ones expanding, the relationship between Wales and Japan feels not only active but full of possibility.
Wales and Japan — onwards, ymlaen, 以降.