Japan has given a stark warning to Britain that its big companies would have to quit the country if trade barriers after Brexit wipe out their profit margins.
Japan has given a stark warning to Britain that its big companies — and others — would have to quit the country if trade barriers after Brexit wipe out their profit margins.
After meeting Prime Minister Theresa May with a delegation of top Japanese executives, Japan’s ambassador to the U. K., Koji Tsuruoka, was asked about the threat of new obstacles to trade between Britain and the European Union, the country’s biggest export market.
« If there is no profitability of continuing operations in the U. K. – not Japanese only – then no private company can continue operations, » he told reporters.
« So it is as simple as that, » the official added. « This is all high stakes that all of us, I think, need to keep in mind. »
Japan is a big investor in Britain. There are more than 1,000 Japanese companies doing business in the country, employing more than 140,000 people.
They include global banking giant Nomura ( NMR) and top automakers Toyota ( TM), Nissan ( NSANF) and Honda ( HMC) .
Japan went public with a detailed list of concerns about the impact on its companies shortly after Brits voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016.
