UK Establishes Major Trade Investment Relationship With Japan

Foreign Secretary to shape new trade and investment relationship between Japan and the UK on first Asia-Pacific visit.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab travels to Tokyo on Saturday 8 February to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to discuss how the UK and Japan can work more closely as partners on the world stage now that the UK has left the EU.

In recent years, this partnership has gone from strength-to-strength thanks to our mutual belief in collective security, respect for the rules-based international system and shared economic and strategic aims.

The UK and Japan also work closely together to tackle shared threats, whether North Korea’s nuclear programme, challenges to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific or climate change, the defining threat of our era.

Our trade relationship is flourishing, with more than £30bn of goods and services passing between our two countries last year and UK and Japanese companies working together to develop cutting-edge solutions to global challenges.

Ahead of the visit, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

Japan is a great friend and our closest security partner in Asia. Now we’ve left the EU we can take full advantage of the opportunities open to us – in trade, investment, technological innovation and security cooperation.

Our countries also share common values, from free markets and human rights to the international rule of law, which will help take our friendship from strength to strength.

UK-Japan cooperation also covers climate change, with the UK set to host COP26, in November. The Foreign Secretary will discuss climate issues in his meeting with Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.