Jeremy Hunt reassured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today that the government is determined to avoid crashing out of the European Union without a withdrawal deal.
Read more: Jeremy Hunt warns Brexit paralysis could keep Britain in EU
On a visit to the Japanese leaders residence in Tokyo, the foreign secretary said: “We recognise that Japan has many investments employing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK.
“We want strong cooperation to continue.”
Japan is one of the biggest foreign investors in Britains economy, with car makers such as Toyota and other manufacturers treating the UK as a gateway to the rest of the European market.
But Britains attempts to leave the EU have raised concerns that Japanese firms will move their operations abroad if frictionless trade ends with the rest of the bloc.
Hunt will also visit Toyota, which recently announced plans to build a new car model with Suzuki in Britain, in a rare piece of good news for the UKs manufacturing industry.
His reassurances follow Abes comments that the “whole world” wants to see a no deal Brexit avoided, made on a visit to London in January.
Around 1,000 companies in the UK are funded with Japanese money, employing 142,000 people, and in April last year the countrys ambassador warned May companies such as Nissan, Toyota and HoRead More – Source
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