Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to support trade with Japan.

Japan is one of the UK's closest trade and strategic partners. In 2021, we concluded the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the first major trade deal that the UK struck as an independent trading nation. We continue to work closely with businesses so they can fully utilise the benefits of this agreement.

We agreed The Hiroshima Accord in May 2023 with Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Kishida, setting the direction of our partnership for the next decade and beyond. During the PM's visit to Japan, leading Japanese businesses committed to invest almost £18 billion into the UK.

This summer, the UK also completed accession negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will strengthen our trading relationship with Japan.

In September 2023, the Secretary of State held the first UK-Japan Economic, Business and Trade Dialogue in which UK Export Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, which will support UK and Japanese exporters, including Small to Medium Enterprises (SME's).