Japan's ambassador came to Gillingham on 24 September, 462 years to the day since Will Adams was baptised there. He laid wreaths at the A2 clock tower.

Japan’s ambassador to the UK, Hiroshi Suzuki, spent Thursday 24 September in Medway. The date was not a coincidence of the diary. It was 462 years to the day since Will Adams, the first Englishman to reach Japan, was baptised in Gillingham.

Medway Council announced the visit on Friday (Medway Council). The ambassador’s day included:

  • a visit to St Mary Magdalene Church, Gillingham, where Adams was baptised
  • wreaths laid at the Will Adams memorial clock tower on Watling Street
  • a visit to Hochiki Europe, a local business whose headquarters are in Japan
  • a business lunch hosted by MidKent College with firms and venues that have links to Japan, among them the Copper Rivet distillery and The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Why 24 September

St Mary’s own history page records that William Adams “was baptised in Gillingham Parish Church on 24th September 1564”. His actual birth date is uncertain. The register that records the baptism is now held by the Medway Archives Centre (St Mary’s Gillingham).

The same page sets out what happened next. Adams served an apprenticeship in a Limehouse shipyard, learning shipbuilding, astronomy and navigation. In 1598 he sailed as pilot major on a Dutch expedition to the Far East. Of five ships, his was the only one to arrive. It anchored off Kyushu, which the church calls Japan’s southernmost island, on 19 April 1600.

The shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, kept him. Adams built European-style ships for him, taught navigation and mathematics, and was given an estate at Hemi, inside today’s Yokosuka. He was never allowed home. He died in Japan on 16 May 1620, aged 56, and left his wealth split equally between his families in Japan and England.

Timeline of Will Adams and Gillingham: baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Gillingham, 24 September 1564; reached Japan, anchoring off Kyushu, 19 April 1600; died in Japan 16 May 1620; memorial clock tower unveiled in Gillingham by the Japanese ambassador, 1934; Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki visits Gillingham, 24 September 2026, 462 years after the baptism.
Will Adams and Gillingham, 1564 to 2026. Graphic by Medway Live, from St Mary's Gillingham, Medway Archives and Medway Council.
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This is not the first time a Japanese ambassador has come to Gillingham for Adams. The memorial clock tower beside the A2 was unveiled in 1934 by the Japanese ambassador of the day, according to the council’s own archive service (Medway Archives Centre).

Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of Medway Council, said the visit “strengthened our historic relationship that dates back centuries”.

He thanked council officers, Naushabah Khan MP, the business owners who took part and the Medway Japan Friendship Association.

“The whole day has truly made me once again proud to be Medway,” he said.

What it means for you

  • The memorial is public and free to visit. The clock tower stands beside the A2 in Gillingham, on the stretch the council calls Watling Street. The wreaths from Thursday’s visit were laid there.
  • St Mary Magdalene is Gillingham’s parish church, on Gillingham Green. Its website carries the full Adams story and a contact number, 07305 891320, if you want to ask about visiting (St Mary’s Gillingham).
  • The baptism register itself is at the Medway Archives Centre, the council’s archive service, according to the church.

For more to do across the towns, see our guide to things to do in Medway.