The Association of British Orientalists existed to co-ordinate the activities of British orientalists and to co-operate with other agencies both in Britain and abroad to advance the diffusion of knowledge of Eastern civilizations. It produced an annual Bulletin of Oriental Studies and held conferences at intervals of not more than two years.
The Asiatic Society of Japan was founded at a meeting in Yokohama on October 1872. Early meetings were held in both Yokohama and Tokyo. It was granted affiliation with the Royal Asiatic Society in 1873. This was severed in 1911 and re-established in 1912, and again it was formally admitted as an Associate Society in 1936. However the Society's affiliation with the Royal Asiatic Society continued to be a matter of concern through the 1970s.