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Brexit: Japanese government sows doubts about Nissan's Sunderland HQ

The Japanese government has placed major doubts over the continued viability of Nissan’s Sunderland headquarters following Brexit, in a stern report from its Foreign Ministry.

According to the report, the Japanese government warns that some of its biggest firms which have a presence in the UK, including Nissan and Hitachi, may look to move elsewhere in Europe ‘if EU laws cease to be applicable in the UK’.

The report, which was delivered to Downing Street this week, came ahead of this week’s G20 summit where Prime Minister, Theresa May, has faced difficult questions about when the government intends to invoke Article 50, which formally begins exit negotiations, and whether Britain will still have unfettered access to the EU single market.

According to the BBC, the report implores the government to consider Japanese investment in the UK and ‘respond in a responsible manner to minimise any harmful effects on these businesses’.

Japanese car manufacturers account for over 50% of the UK’s total output, with Nissan’s base in Sunderland, which employs 6,700 in the region, one of the biggest in the country.

However, most Japanese firms operating in the UK currently do so as a gateway to the wider European Union which naturally relies on seamless access to the European single market.

So far, Nissan has remained coy about the long-term prospects of its plant in Sunderland after the firm argued strongly for a ‘Remain’ vote in June’s referendum.

Speaking back in the August, Nissan’s Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, said that the Japanese car manufacturer’s presence in the UK depended on a sensible outcome in the impending exit negotiations.

He commented: “Most of the production out of Sunderland is exported to Europe. So obviously for us the relationship which is going to prevail between the UK and Europe is very important … So you’re going to see a period where most companies are going to be waiting to see what’s going to be the new status.”