After a February meeting between the UK prime minister Theresa May and 19 Japanese chiefs, Tokyo’s ambassador to Britain warned what might happen if Brexit took an unfavourable turn for foreign investors.
“No private company can continue operations” in the UK if it becomes unprofitable, said Koji Tsuruoka. “It is as simple as that”.
Eight months later, as the risk of a no-deal Brexit looms larger and nearer, Japanese companies aren’t waiting around to find out whether May can deliver. Instead, a growing number of them are heeding Mr Tsuruoka’s warning, shifting operations out of the UK or threatening to scale back if the country crashes out of the EU without a deal.
Mrs May provided little in the way of reassurance on Wednesday when she said at the Conservative Party conference that “Britain isn’t afraid to leave with no deal if we have to”.
Car maker Toyota said last week that it might have to temporarily halt output at its plant in Derby, in the event of a hard Brexit. Electronics company Panasonic has moved its European headquarters from near London to Amsterdam, while the Japanese retailer of Muji products is mulling a similar relocation to Germany.
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Other companies, like robot maker Yaskawa Electric, are choosing continental sites for new operations in order to stay close to European customers if Brexit creates trade hurdles.
“A lot of Japanese companies, manufacturing companies in particular, have invested in this country as a gateway to Europe,” Shinichi Iida, minister for public diplomacy and media for the Japanese embassy in London, said in an interview. “A no-deal Brexit in March next year will be nothing short of a cliff edge” for our businesses.
The stakes are high for both countries because of their close economic ties. The UK is Japan’s second-biggest investment destination after the US, with $153 billion committed as of 2017, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation.
The Asian nation is the biggest investor in Britain aside from the US and a handful of European neighbours. About 1,000 Japanese companies operate in the UK employing roughly 160,000 workers.
In a nod to Japan’s importance to the UK economy, Mrs May visited the country in August 2017, two months after her election, with a delegation of business leaders to discuss trade and investment opportunities.
At a Tokyo press conference, she praised “the commitment from Japanese companies to a long-term presence in the UK”.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
