The Sakura Cherry Tree Project is a

tree planting Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...

program in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is intended to symbolise friendship between the United Kingdom and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The trees were donated by the private sector in Japan and are of three types: Beni-yutaka, Tai-haku, and Somei-yoshino.

History

The project was started following the meeting of the Japanese and British prime ministers,

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Lib ...

and

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

respectively, in 2017. It was coordinated by the

Japan–British Society The Japan–British Society (or ) was founded in 1908 "to encourage the study of things British and to promote cordial relations between the peoples of Great Britain and Japan." It is the oldest bilateral organization in Japan, promoting interna ...

and the Japan Association of the UK. The Japanese arm of the Japan–British Society organised funding for the project, while the British arm of the Japan Association of the UK selected sites for planting and procured the trees. On 27 November 2019, the first trees were planted at

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

in London. By 2021, there were 160 Sakura-planting sites in the UK, and 400 schools participating to the plantation project.

References

External links

Official website
Japan–United Kingdom relations Trees {{International-relations-stub