Japan’s ambassador to Britain said Thursday that Japanese businesses in the U. K. expect continued access to the European Union market after Brexit.
LONDON — Japan’s ambassador to Britain said Thursday that Japanese businesses in the U. K. expect continued access to the European Union market after Brexit.
Koji Tsuruoka said Japanese firms “have a high stake” in the outcome of divorce negotiations between Britain and the EU.
Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May and Japanese business leaders at 10 Downing St., Tsuruoka said Japanese firms based in Britain counted on access to the EU market. He said “the question is whether the arrangements that will be reached between the two sides will allow the Japanese companies, who are willing and in some ways determined to continue to operate in the U. K., to allow them to make that happen.”
He said Japanese companies were “watching very closely” the progress of Brexit negotiations.
Japanese government figures say some 879 Japanese companies employ 142,000 staff in Britain.
May and Treasury chief Philip Hammond met the ambassador and executives of major Japanese firms including Toyota, Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Nissan, whose car plant in Sunderland, England, employs 7,000 people.
