Japanese companies despair at Brexit confusion

Japanese companies with operations in Britain are nonplussed by the UK government’s approach to Brexit as the deadline for leaving the EU nears, the Financial Times reported.

Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of Japanese business lobby Keidanren, said companies were left guessing by lack of clarity about the route to Brexit and disagreements within the government.

"We just can't do anything," Nakanishi, who also chairs Hitachi, told the FT. "Various scenarios get discussed, from no Brexit to plunging into Brexit without any kind of deal […] When you talk to the UK government they say something a bit different depending on who is speaking.”

He said leaving the EU with no deal would be disastrous and urged Britain to stay in the customs union – an idea rejected by hardline Brexiters in the government. Nakanishi also said the UK had not acted on requests from the Japanese government submitted in September 2016.

Keidanren represents more than 1,000 Japanese companies including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which are big investors in the UK and have based their European operations in Britain for decades.

The UK sought to reassure Japanese companies early after the 2016 Brexit vote. It sent a secret letter to Nissan in October that year that prompted the carmaker to proceed with a planned investment in the UK.

But as talks with the EU have worn on without a deal and the government has become increasingly divided, Japanese companies have expressed renewed concern. Nissan’s boss Carlos Ghosn said in June he could not make further investment decisions about the UK because he had been left in the dark about Brexit.