The authors have been running UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshops at universities in Britain and Japan since 2001: for the past three years in England with Cambridge University and, last year, also with Kyoto University and Kyoto University of Education. For many years they have worked jointly with colleagues in a group of Super Science High Schools in Kyoto (as well as a number in Tokyo) but, since the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, they are now committed to working also with schools serving communities in the devastated Tohoku region. In this article, the author talks about the UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop programme and the lessons learned for education.