THE PARKER REPORT of February 1986 entitled ‘Speaking for the Future’ highlighted the need in the long-term national interest to expand the study of Japanese language, history, economy and culture. In the light of this report the University Grants Committee agreed to fund the establishment of new posts. One objective was to ensure that Japanese could be studied at degree level at a number of universities where Japanese had not hitherto been taught at this level.

The time was right, if not overdue. The Japanese economy was expanding fast and there was increasing interest in Japanese management techniques. Japanese investment in Britain was bringing significant benefits to the UK economy. There had been a Japanese presence in Wales since the early 1970s but its importance grew in the 1980s.

Cardiff University, or the University of Wales, Cardiff College, as it was then called, recognized the importance of Japan to the development and prosperity of Wales. In 1987 the new Cardiff Business School was established. At the first meeting of the School Board it was agreed that the School should bid for funding to appoint new lecturers in Japanese studies as well as staff to teach the Japanese language as there were already a number of staff in the Business School who were researching aspects of Japanese management and Japanese investment in the UK. The bid was successful.

In 1989 the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre was established as part of the Cardiff Business School. Its director was Douglas Anthony who came to Cardiff from the Japanese Studies Centre at Sheffield University. Based on his experience at Sheffield, he concentrated on establishing a number of joint honours programmes and other combined degrees. In 1990 the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre accepted its first students who were able to choose from one of six degree programmes combined with Japanese: business, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Law. Despite the subsequent deflation in the Japanese economy and a reduction in the level of Japanese investment in Wales, Cardiff University continued to attract a good number of students throughout the 1990s, many of whom were attracted to the Centre by the presence in the school of prominent academics such as Gaye Rowley and Mark Teeuwen as well as Douglas Anthony.