Prime Minister Takaichi should strengthen Japan’s trade relationship with the UK
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi should strengthen Japan’s trade relationship with the UK, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Yusuke Takanishi, a partner at the firm, said: “Prime Minister Takaichi must take advantage of the strong political mandate she has secured following her landslide election victory to advance economic reforms and strengthen Japan’s trade relationship with the UK.”
He added: “Ms Takaichi and her government need to have stronger leadership within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP.) In this environment, Japan and the UK have an opportunity to work together to strengthen the CPTPP as a pillar of rules-based trade and regional stability.”
Yusuke said: “The United Kingdom joined the CPTPP after Brexit, and Japan played a key role in supporting and promoting the UK’s accession. With the United States currently outside the CPTPP framework, the agreement is becoming increasingly important amid uncertainty over U.S. political direction and growing strategic tensions involving China.”
He added: “Ms Takaichi should also build on the Japan–UK trade agreement concluded after Brexit. Deepening cooperation in services, advanced technology, supply chain resilience, and even defence and security can expand growth opportunities for Japanese firms beyond the U.S. market while also helping diversify tariff risk.”
Yusuke said: “The UK – Japan trade relationship is already well established. Total trade in goods and between the UK and Japan was £33.4bn in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025. In that time period there was a 2.1% increase in UK exports to Japan and an increase of 3.2% in UK imports from Japan.”
He added: “January’s data from the Bank of Japan shows strong real export growth alongside weaker real imports. External demand is regaining momentum, while domestic demand remains subdued, meaning that growth at present is once again being driven primarily by net exports. A stable and consistent trade relationship with the United Kingdom has become even more important.”
Yusuke said: “Ongoing trade frictions with the United States under President Trump’s tariff policies continue to shape Japan’s external environment. The recent decision to move forward with specific projects under the first tranche of the agreed USD 550bn in Japan–U.S. investment commitments illustrates that this new phase of complex economic engagement is beginning to take concrete form.”
He added: “January’s data precedes the full implementation of US investment, and close attention will be needed to assess how they begin to show up in statistics from February onward.”