By Ben Kerrigan-
Japan has told the Uk that trade talks between Japan and the Uk will not take place before Britain leaves the EU.
Japan’s foreign minister has warned the two prospective Conservative leaders to avoid a no-deal Brexit at all costs. Taro Kono is concerned of trading relations between Japan and the Uk under the current climate . He told the Today programme that he knew Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt “very well” and had told them in meetings, “please no no-deal Brexit”. He expressed concern from Japanese firms about the implications of the Uk leaving the EU without a deal.
Kono told the BBC ahead of the up-coming G20 meeting in Osaka that he had urged both Mr Hunt – the current foreign secretary – and his predecessor, Mr Johnson, to give clarity on Brexit.
“Whenever we had a meeting, that was one of the major issues – please… no no-deal Brexit,” he said.
“There are over 1,000 Japanese companies operating in the United Kingdom so we are very concerned with this no-deal Brexit. That would have [a] very negative impact on their operations.
“So whoever wins, whoever becomes a new leader for the UK, [I hope] they would consider those foreign companies operating in the United Kingdom and take good care of it”.
During the current leadership campaign, Mr Johnson has said he will get the UK out of the EU on 31 October, but he thinks the chances of a no-deal Brexit happening are a “million to one”.
Mr Hunt has said he would leave the EU with no deal, but it is not his preferred option.
“Right now they have very smooth operations. Their stock for each part is only for a few hours. But if there is no-deal Brexit, and if they have to go through actual custom inspection physically, those operations may not be able to continue.
“And many companies are worried about [the] implications because they don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said, so they have started to move their operations to other places in Europe.
“I don’t think so,” said Mr Kono when asked if he thought it was possible, adding there would be “some kind of gap” before a deal could be agreed.related uncertainty was difficult for his company.