[...] Toyota Motor Corp. said on Saturday that it might have to temporarily halt output at its plant in Derby, England, in the event of a so-called hard Brexit. Electronics maker Panasonic has moved its European headquarters from near London to Amsterdam, while the Japanese retailer of Muji products is mulling a similar relocation to Germany. Other companies, like robot maker Yaskawa Electric Corp., are choosing continental sites for new operations in order to stay close to European customers if Brexit creates trade hurdles.
“A lot of Japanese companies, manufacturing companies in particular, have invested in this country as a gateway to Europe,” Shinichi Iida, minister for public diplomacy and media for the Japanese embassy in London, said in an interview. “A no-deal Brexit in March next year will be nothing short of a cliff edge” for our businesses.
The stakes are high for both countries because of their close economic ties. The U.K. is Japan’s second-biggest investment destination after the U.S., with $153 billion committed as of 2017, according to the Japan External Trade Organization. The Asian nation is the biggest investor in Britain aside from the U.S. and a handful of European neighbors. About 1,000 Japanese companies operate in the U.K. employing roughly 160,000 workers. [...]
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