When did Britain and Japan meet?

Question:

around what year did Britain and Japan 'discover' each other?

Answer:

It's not a simple one date in history encounter and it also depends on what you mean by "discover".

Britain and all of Europe knew about Japan long before Will Adams' arrival in Japan in 1600. They knew it from the Portuguese who in 1543 were the first westerners to find the way to Japan, but kept the navigation directions a state secret. The "rudder" which is the term for the maritime log which contained navigational data on how to get to a place was stolen or copied by the Dutch.

From the stolen rudder information, the Dutch set out for Japan and Adams was an Englishman working for the Dutch as a ship's pilot on board on of the ships in a fleet sent to Japan.

Adams shipwrecked in Japan 1600, but he was not able to send any letters to communicate with Britain until 1611, so until his letters reached England as far as anyone in Britain was concern, Adams was dead or missing.

In 1613, the first English ship arrived in Japan with the first official diplomatic and trades mission from Britain.

So take your pick.