Japan Asks UK to Avoid No-Deal Brexit

A top Japanese official asked Britain to avoid a no-deal Brexit scenario, saying it would hurt Japanese companies. “Japanese companies have great concerns and would like to avoid ‘leave without agreement,’” Isshu Sugawara, Japan’s trade minister, told the U.K.’s international trade minister during a recent meeting, according to an unofficial translation of a Sept. 25 press release.

Japan’s request came the same day, Sept. 20, the U.K. asked for feedback from British industries on how to prepare for trade negotiations with Japan after Brexit. After Brexit, the Department for International Trade said, the U.K. wants to “establish a new economic partnership as soon as possible,” similar to the existing European Union-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

“Businesses should be reassured that there is huge political will on both sides to begin negotiating a new free trade agreement with Japan as soon as possible,” U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. “This is about taking back control of our trade policy and negotiating an agreement that is even more ambitious and tailored to the needs of both our countries.”