Abe: No one wants no-deal Brexit

Japanese PM backs May’s withdrawal agreement

LONDON: Japan’s Shinzo Abe said that the world did not want to see a disorderly Brexit and that he fully supported British Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal from the European Union now facing defeat in parliament.

Some of Japan’s leading companies in Britain have warned that a no-deal Brexit could be a disaster.

After meeting May in London, Abe said it was scenario no one wanted to see.

“It is the strong will of Japan to further develop this strong partnership with the UK, to invest more into the country and to enjoy further economic growth with the UK.

“That is why we truly hope that a no-deal Brexit will be avoided and, in fact, that is the wish of the whole world,” Abe said.

Japanese firms have spent more

£ than 46bil (RM240bil) in Britain, encouraged by successive British governments since Margaret Thatcher promising them a business-friendly base from which to trade across Europe.

The future of Brexit remains deeply uncertain – with options ranging from a disorderly exit from the EU to another membership referendum – because British lawmakers are expected on Jan 15 to vote down the deal May struck with the EU in November.

Abe has been one of the strongest international supporters of May’s Brexit deal since it was struck in November. When the two met at a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires in December, he asked for May’s support to avoid a “no deal” and to ensure transparency, predictability and legal stability in the process.

“Japan is in total support of the draft withdrawal agreement worked out between the EU and Prime Minister May which provides for transition to ensure legal stability for businesses that have invested into this country,” he said.

However, investors fear that if her deal is defeated as is expected then the world’s fifth-largest economy could be plunged into a chaotic no-deal exit from the world’s biggest trading bloc that would severely disrupt supply chains.

Britain’s business minister Greg Clark also said a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster and partners such as Japan need assurance that it will be avoided.

May told reporters that the only way to avoid such a scenario was for lawmakers to support her deal. — Reuters