HC Deb 26 March 1986 vol 94 c524W
Mr. Hancock

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what promotion efforts for British goods and services are made by the British embassy in Japan.

Mrs. Chalker

Her Majesty's embassy in Tokyo, and the British consulate-general in Osaka are actively involved in providing the normal range of export promotion services to help United Kingdom firms to establish themselves in the Japanese market. Special promotional activities in 1985 included support for 18 outward missions, for joint venture participations at 13 trade fairs and exhibitions, and for specialised store promotions in 25 branches of seven different department stores. To promote the interests of the services sector Her Majesty's embassy has on its staff a senior officer seconded from the Bank of England.

Mr. Hancock

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in the British embassy in Japan deal specifically with commercial matters.

Mr. Eggar

Seven UK-based and 20 locally-engaged members of Her Majesty's embassy in Tokyo as well as two UK-based and seven locally-engaged members of the consulate-general in Osaka deal specifically with commercial matters. In addition, Her Majesty's am-bassador devotes a considerable amount of his time to commercial work.

Mr. Hancock

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the annual cost of the British embassy in Japan.

Mr. Eggar

Excluding FCO headquarters overheads, the cost of the British missions in Japan was:

£ million
1983–84 1984–85
HBM embassy Tokyo 5.2 5.9
Consulate-General Osaka 0.5 0.7