British PM meets with Japanese corporations to ease Brexit concerns
(Baonghean) - On February 8, in a meeting with senior officials from Toyota Motor Corp., Panasonic Corp. and 16 other Japanese companies, with the presence of Japanese Ambassador to the UK Koji Tsuruoka, British Prime Minister Theresa May affirmed that she will negotiate with the EU to maintain the current business environment during the transition period.
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| British Prime Minister Theresa May works with senior officials of leading Japanese corporations, February 8. |
The meeting comes after a series of companies pulled back on investment decisions amid growing concerns among business leaders about their ability to operate in the future without the UK starting trade negotiations with the EU, which is the UK's largest trading partner.
According to Japanese government figures, there are currently about 879 Japanese companies operating in the UK and employing around 142,000 people in the country.
It is known that since 2016 alone, Japan's total investment in the UK has reached 4.25 trillion Yen. If companies decide to cancel their investments, this will be a huge loss for both sides and at the same time, it is also something that no one wants.
Japanese Ambassador to the UK Koji Tsuruoka said after the meeting that the question was how the agreements between the two sides would affect the current good investment activities of Japanese companies in the UK.
Because they will be directly affected by the decisions between the UK and the EU. He also added that Japanese companies will closely monitor new developments in the UK-EU relationship before making a final decision.
Faced with the tense situation, Prime Minister Theresa May, British Finance Minister Philip Hammond and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox offered words of reassurance to Japanese business leaders during the meeting.
“As we begin negotiations on leaving the EU, we can assure our partners and EU member states that the UK will remain a strong partner to them in defence, security and hopefully trade, and will support foreign businesses investing here in terms of policy and business operations,” Prime Minister May affirmed.
