Japan’s brutal post-Brexit message to Britain

JAPAN has penned a strongly worded note to Britain over its decision to leave the European Union, and it hasn’t held back.

JAPAN has penned a strongly worded note to Britain over its decision to leave the European Union, and it hasn’t held back.

The 15-page letter points out that Japanese companies are heavily invested in the United Kingdom, threatening an exodus to the European Union if Brexit negotiations fail to safeguard the free flow of workers, particularly in the banking sector.

“There are numerous Japanese businesses operating in Europe, which have created 440,000 jobs,” the document says.

“A considerable number of these firms are concentrated in the UK ... While benefiting from the single market of the EU, Japanese businesses have contributed to the development of the European economy.”

The letter warned that Japanese companies headquartered in the UK may shift their offices over to Continental Europe if EU laws ceased to be applicable.

“It is of great importance that the UK and the EU maintain market integrity and remain attractive destinations for businesses where free trade, unfettered investment and smooth financial transactions are ensured,” it reads.

“We strongly request that the UK will consider this fact seriously and respond in a responsible manner to minimise any harmful effects on these businesses.”

The communiqué, issued by Japan’s foreign ministry on Friday ahead of this week’s G20 summit in China, included a list of more than a dozen specific requests from Japanese businesses “so that they can carry on their economic activities as freely as before, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations”. They include calling for free trade rule to be preserved and a single passport system for workers who are nationals of the UK and EU.

Some of Japan’s best-known companies, including Toyota, Hitachi and investment bank Nomura, are understood to be reassessing their UK investments after Britain voted in June to quit the 28-member EU.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue with British leader Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 talks in Hangzhou yesterday, requesting “her co-operation to enhance predictability and to continue to secure Japanese companies’ businesses and value chains”.

Japan has stated some of its firms were lured to Britain by its sales pitch as a launching pad for tapping the much larger European market.

More than 1000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people, and Japan’s direct investment in the country has topped 10 trillion yen ($96 billion) to date.

The letter also urged Britain and the EU to make the Brexit negotiation process transparent to avoid “unpleasant surprises”.

“Uncertainty is a major concern for an economy,” it said.

“What Japanese businesses in Europe most wish to avoid is the situation in which they are unable to discern clearly the way the Brexit negotiations are going, only grasping the whole picture at the last minute.”

— with AFP