David Taylor MP: My priorities as the UK's Trade Envoy to Japan - Photos

We welcomed David Taylor MP, Trade Envoy to Japan and Treasurer of the British-Japanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, as the guest of honour at a joint lunch hosted by The Japan Society and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday 13 July 2026.

Following a two-course lunch, David Taylor MP reflected on the outcomes of the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's visit to the UK, discussing what this meant for deepening trade and investment opportunities. The event was chaired by The Japan Society's trustee, Mohan Manuel.

David Taylor MP serves as Labour’s Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead and was appointed as the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Japan on the 23rd of March 2026. David also serves as the treasurer of the British-Japanese All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Prior to being elected to Parliament David worked for an international charity aimed at improving wages in developing countries. In 2009, Taylor founded the Labour Campaign for International Development and he now serves on the International Development Committee. This is a cross-party House of Commons Select Committee that scrutinises the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office regarding international aid and overseas development assistance. A graduate of Warwick University, David previously worked in the office of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. David has visited Japan on five occasions and has travelled a lot ‘off the beaten track’, including Kyushu, Toyama, and Nikko, as well as leading the APPG delegation that visited Japan in 2025. David has a strong interest in Defence and has visited Ukraine twice, including to meet frontline soldiers and the Defence Minister. 

The event was hosted at The Athenaeum Club, for which we are extremely grateful. We would also like to thank JCCI UK, our co-organisers of this lunch series. 

Photographs by Gregory Owain.