Japan urges UK to reach EU deal that doesn’t hurt its companies

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged his UK counterpart Boris Johnson to reach a deal with the European Union on Northern Ireland that doesn’t hurt Japanese companies operating in Europe.

The comments were made in a bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Germany on Tuesday, according to a statement from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UK is pushing ahead with legislation to override parts of the Brexit deal it signed with the EU, risking a serious legal dispute more than two years after the UK left the bloc. Britain’s House of Commons on Tuesday voted to allow the bill to progress to the next stage, with Johnson pushing for it to become law by year-end.

Japan was a vocal opponent of Brexit because of the potential damage to its businesses operating in Britain. While the Asian nation has sought to bolster ties since the UK’s departure from the bloc, including by signing a bilateral trade deal, Kishida’s remarks to Johnson show that concerns remain because of the ongoing friction between the UK and EU.

Johnson’s legislation would give British ministers the power to unilaterally rewrite the bulk of the Northern Ireland protocol, which keeps that region in the EU’s single market while creating a customs border with the rest of the UK.

The new rules would separate goods flowing between Britain and Northern Ireland from goods intended for the EU and allow businesses in Northern Ireland to choose whether they follow UK or EU standards, or both, for goods.