Japan's Abe appeals for minimal Brexit impact on Japanese firms, global economy
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E-mail Xinhua, April 15, 2019
TOKYO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday expressed his hope that Britain's planned departure from the European Union will not have an overly negative impact on Japanese firms.
In talks with British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in Tokyo, Abe said he welcomed Britain averting leaving the EU without a deal, owing to EU leaders and Britain agreeing last week to push back the exit deadline until the end of October from April 12.
The deadline was extended due to there being a parliamentary impasse on a deal British Prime Minister Theresa May had already negotiated with the EU and a lack of support for other iterations of the deal thereafter.
The Japanese premiere did, however, underscore his hope that the planned departure would be of minimal impact to Japan and the wider global economy.
"We respect the efforts made by Prime Minister Theresa May to avert a no-deal Brexit. It's our hope that the negative impact of Britain's exit on Japanese companies and the world economy will be minimal," Abe told Hunt.
Major Japanese manufactures including Toyota Motor Corp. Nissan Motor Co., and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. all have factories in Britain, the latter of which has already announced that it's Swindon plant in the southwest of the country, is to close, threatening the jobs of 3,500 workers there.
Hunt, for his part, told Abe that his government is focused on avoiding a no-deal exit from the EU and noted that Japanese firms based in the Britain have made a significant impact on the economy and provided jobs for thousands of British people.
He also said that after Britain leaves the single currency European bloc he hopes that closer relations can be forged between Britain and Japan.
"Japan has helped transform the British manufacturing industry for the better. We want that strong cooperation to continue," said the British foreign secretary.
Abe also asked Hunt for Britain's support during the Group of 20 summit to be hosted by Japan in Osaka in June, during which some of the talks will be focused on free trade, innovation and challenges facing the global economy. Enditem
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