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MP Grayling allays Japanese fears over UK investment opportunities following Brexit

The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, has used a G7 Transport Ministers’ Summit in Nagano as a platform to allay the fears of Japanese investors and businesses about investing in the UK following Brexit.

Gesturing towards major projects such as HS2 and Crossrail, and the £100bn infrastructure programme up to 2020, Grayling moved to assure Japanese firms that there will still be plenty of opportunities to invest in UK projects.

It comes after a string of warnings from Tokyo that Japanese firms such as Nissan, Fujitsu and Hitachi could be forced to relocate elsewhere in the European Union if Britain loses its unfettered access to the single market.

Currently, over a third of Japanese investment into the EU flows through their UK operations, with firms utilising the country as a gateway to the European market.

However, comments in recent months by Japan’s UK ambassador Koji Tsuruoka and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have sown doubts about whether investment levels can be sustained once Brexit negotiations have been concluded.

It is within this context that Grayling has set about promoting the continued UK-Japan trade and investment opportunities, describing the EU referendum as ‘a decision to leave the EU, not Europe’.

In a speech held at the British Embassy Tokyo, Mr Grayling said: “I believe the UK and the EU each have more to offer the world as independent friends and allies than we do in a strained union. However, we are now looking forward to the future.

“Following the referendum, we can have a more global focus and strengthen ties with our very closest partners like Japan.

“We benefit more from Japanese investment than any other country in the world apart from the US. As recently as July, Sumitomo Corporation signed a deal to invest £180 million in a new wind farm off the Suffolk coast.”

He went on to say that the government’s efforts to make the UK a world-leader in autonomous and connected vehicles and the impending decision on expansion at Heathrow or Gatwick all posed significant opportunities for Japanese firms.

“In total, our infrastructure programme to 2020 is worth over £100 billion - and there will be lots more to come in the years that follow. That’s why Britain represents a great opportunity for Japanese firms,” said Grayling.

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