The Legal Framework for Strengthening UK/Japanese Relations: Trade, Policy, and Constitutional Dimensions

This proposal is driven by the conviction that the scope and depth of legal research pertaining to Japan has been unfit for purpose. There are a range of significant connections between the constitutional and international law practices and traditions of the UK and Japan which are ripe for collaborative exploration. Bolstering developing research relationships to deepen our understanding of these constitutional issues will be crucial in extending understanding on both sides of how the UK and Japan are governed. If the economic and political relationship between the states is to be extended through international trade commitments, such collective understanding will be an essential prerequisite of embedding such commitments in domestic legal structures. This will also generate considerable academic benefits - these rich possibilities for collaborative and comparative research in constitutional law remain largely untapped, which is a major gap in the constitutional scholarship of advanced democratic states.
Our Work Packages aim to address two broad but central aspects of UK-Japanese relations: trade-related, and constitutional. This work will extend understanding in the diverse communities of social science research and contribute towards translating said findings into user-communities via our stakeholder engagement, as elaborated in our Case for Support.
Work Package 1: The UK shall not only present itself as the "gateway to Europe" for Japan business. This project explores the legal means by which the UK can deepen the bond between the two countries and, if possible, surpass the level of integration granted by the EU-Japan EPA in areas such as corporate governance, e-commerce, intellectual property protection and regulatory cooperation. A strong strategic link with Japan would also facilitate wider plans, such as the UK's membership to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a long-term project that might complement the UK's role in the East of the world, alongside its key role in the China-led OBOR enterprise.
Work Package 2: Despite differences in constitutional structure between the UK's uncodified system and the Japanese written constitutional text, there are important points of commonality in both institutional and conceptual terms. The key institutional issues which raise connected challenges for UK and Japanese scholars include the operation of electoral systems and the approach to the democratic accountability of government, the role of Supreme Courts in the enforcement of fundamental norms, the functions of Cabinet government, and the effectiveness of parliamentary processes.
We contend that this needs a step change in both theory and practice. User involvement, acting across sectors, deploying distinct and apt forms of knowledge, must involve new propositions and forms of governance. Such changes are also deeply political. Applying interdisciplinary approaches for our academic programmes, a further objective is to nurture a rising generation of researchers with a proper understanding of the common concerns of the two nations, and the networks to explore their research agendas. See further, Academic Beneficiaries document.
Our Projects will commence just before the UK is set to leave the EU, and we aim to inform the UK's international strategy wherever the higher politics takes us.

The careful selection of researchers, in both Japan and the United Kingdom, and stakeholders is crafted to deliver positive research and impact outcomes across the UK, Japan and beyond. This builds on existing initiatives in comparative constitutional studies by the applicants, and the Japanese Society for the Study of the British Constitution.

At the research-policy interface, the PI has extensive experience of advising major public and private actors on law and policy and will oversee Project's activities. Aikyo, CI, has a distinguished track record of engaging with government and judicial policy in Japan.
Research relevance and domestic impact in both jurisdictions will be ensured through on-going co-design and co-delivery with stakeholders. As elaborated in the Case for Support, user-communities will cross-refer to Work Packages, and key events for stakeholders. In the UK FCO, DG Trade, and Parliamentary clerks will engage on our respective sub-projects, helping to co-design our research and identify emergent issues and trends on post-Brexit trade arrangements and constitutional practice.

We will generate wider impact through shaping an interdisciplinary and co-production agenda with end-users and by engaging wider academia. The participating Universities will lever their breadth of expertise and impacts networks. Fundamental to the success of any such venture is the participation of 'end-users' in the co-design and co-production of the research. This includes testing the relevance of research questions with civil society, business, government and other relevant parties. In the case of Japan this can be especially challenging given the relatively undeveloped research links between UK-Japan. Accordingly, dissemination means engaging such end-users at the start of the process and NOT as a 'tailpipe' will be essential to guarantee impact