Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 8.83 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, how many discussions (a) ministers and (b) officials from her Department have had with the Japanese Government in which the challenges for small and medium sized enterprises in the use of electronic commerce has been discussed.

The UK and Japan held their first Committee on Trade in Services, Investment Liberalisation and Electronic Commerce under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between officials on 1st November 2021. The UK and Japan discussed mutually beneficial cooperation to promote digitalisation including through e-government and applications being accepted in electronic format, which is of particular relevance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We will continue to consider challenges for SMEs moving forward.