LONDON — This is a speech delivered by David Howell, minister of state in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to the Japan Society of London on Nov. 18. Before being appointed to his current post, Howell was a regular contributor to The Japan Times.

While the focus these days is understandably on China and its huge and growing market, we should never overlook the fact that Britain's best and strongest friend in East Asia is, and has long been, Japan.

Here is a nation, which, despite present difficulties — which we all face — is one of the richest and most innovative in the world, which has strong democratic values, a determination to act with complete responsibility on the global stage and, except for the dark period of militarism in the 1930s and '40s, has always been extremely pro-British.

Japan sees Britain as its best partner in Europe and a like-minded island nation in many ways. Many Japanese look back on the period following the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Treaty as the golden period in their country's history.

Despite talk of stagnation in the Japanese economy, I can only say it is stagnation at a very high level, with income per head at many multiples of their giant neighbor. Actually the Japanese economy is now growing again quite fast.

Today Japan, like Britain, seeks to establish and define a new role for itself in the fast-changing global landscape and to complete its journey toward being "a normal country." As a friend of Japan, we can only salute that endeavor, although adding from our own experience that being "normal" carries heavy burdens and creates many headaches.

It is also expensive, as we know, to maintain a strong influence and make a full contribution to world stability and development. So, I hope my wish for Japan to play this role fully does not sound unfriendly!

We in the coalition (government of Britain) have said that we want to build much closer ties with Japan and to build much closer collaboration in many areas — and I think the time for that is very ripe. The foreign secretary chose Tokyo as the place for one of his major scene-setting speeches back in the summer, and there have been other ministers and official visits both ways. But it is not just a question of visits.

We want to develop close collaboration with Japan in a whole range of areas. We are open in our wish to see Japan as a central member of a reformed United Nations. It really is absurd that this nation with its immense economy at almost 9 percent of world gross domestic product is still not on the U.N. Security Council. As U.S. President Barack Obama urged for India, so we urge in the case of Japan — that change at the U.N. is long overdue.

As for closer U.K.-Japanese links, let us look at the facts and the possibilities. We desire to build a closer relationship on both the hard-power and soft-power fronts. In the defense field, where Japan's spending on its Self-Defense Forces is already very considerable, we frankly hope to sell Japan our superb Euro-fighter Typhoons, and to develop much closer collaboration between our defense industries.

We are delighted that a Japanese airline is buying Airbuses in which we hope to have Rolls Royce engines. Of course, we fully back the efforts through the six-power talks to contain the unstable and dangerous North Korea. But it is on the soft-power side that I really see colossal potential for working together.

Japan's credentials in the fields of promoting human security, meeting environmental challenges such as climate change, assisting small business growth in poor areas of the world, overcoming water shortages, energy innovation, and preventive diplomacy and support are unchallengeable. Japan's advanced technology in energy efficiency and green technologies is legendary.

Japanese financial support for Afghanistan has been vital. Japan, unlike sadly some other nations, is in full cooperation in seeking to constrain the Iranian danger to us all. Japan knows all about peace-building and its diplomats contribute vast skills to these tasks worldwide. I see Japan as a real partner in our software ambitions world wide.

In fact, I would personally like to see a more formal pooling of resources which would give both countries increased diplomatic leverage. Together we could achieve more for poverty reduction and stabilization than we can do apart.

We want to expand cultural and educational exchanges, expand university partnerships and enlarge the two-way flow of investment, which has tended in recent decades — to our great benefit — to be somewhat one way with steady and major Japanese investment in the U.K.

Indeed, there is no doubt that the wave of Japanese investment here in the last century helped significantly in creating a better pattern of labor elations in British plants and factories. We are glad this continues with the Nissan Leaf (electric car) going to be built here as well as the Toyota Auris (hybrid car).

Please note that many of our government cars, which of course ministers use very sparingly nowadays, are the brilliant Toyota Prius hybrids.

We can do more on the trade and investment side. Of course, we want to see more open markets in Japan and the winding down of more tariff and nontariff barriers. We make no secret of that. But this is all part of a determination to see our two nations, at either ends of the planet geographically, become neighbors in communication, trade and understanding. Japan is only one click away in many senses — as near a neighbor as our fellow EU partners.

So I say, let the relationship between two remarkable nations, ours and theirs, flourish. Let us formalize it if necessary as it use to be formalized long ago. And let us recognize that together with Japan we can enlarge and enhance our national aims and priorities to the benefit of both ourselves and the whole world.

I have even heard it suggested from Japanese friends that Japan would like to link more closely with the amazing Commonwealth network that we are currently seeking to invigorate and which offers the ideal soft-power system for the 21st century.

We are one of 54 fellow members of the Commonwealth today, but this is an organization that stretches across continents, contains many of the fastest growing and high-tech economies in today's world and has 2 billion citizens.

The Commonwealth's association with Japan's mighty economy and wealth, even if on an informal basis, would create one of the great global platforms of the 21st century.