The Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Ono said on Thursday that Japanese investors could leave the United Kingdom if they leave the European Union without a deal.
Ono warned the Tory candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, who are amid a contest that will decide who is going to be the leader of the conservative party, and the next Prime Minister, and urged them to avoid this scenario.
“Please, no no-deal Brexit,” said Kono, “some companies are already starting to move their operations to other places in Europe,” he added.
Japan is one of the main commercial partners of Britain and is also one of the main sources of foreign investment for the Island. If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in a disorderly manner and without a transition that would have a negative impact on Japanese investments on the Island.
“It could be that there is going to be less investment,” answered Kono after someone asked him if the Japanese investors would leave in such situation.
The automobile industry would be the most affected since they would need to go through physical customs inspections, affecting their operations significatively.
Later in the morning, Boris Johnson said that such an outcome is unlikely.
“I want obviously to have a broad range of talent in my government, the government that I will lead, but clearly people must be reconciled to the very, very, very small possibility, and I stress it will be a very, very small possibility, that we would have to leave on those terms,’’ said Johnson on an interview., “I don’t think it will happen but they would have to be reconciled to it,” he added.
The United Kingdom must leave the European Union on October 31 unless the European Union agrees with another extension. The tensions have increased since Boris Johnson, who is the favorite to succeed Theresa May, have claimed that he is ready to leave the union with or without a deal, pleasing the most hardcore Brexit supporters and raising concerns among the most moderate sector of the party, which prefers leaving in an orderly manner.