UK's Brexit blues with Beijing, Tokyo tarnish close ties

UK ministers are on damage limitation exercises with their Japanese counterparts this week after reportedly angering Tokyo with their tactics over a new post-Brexit trade treaty. This faux pas, following China's abrupt cancellation of a UK ministerial trip this week, underlines the big challenges with the UK mission to negotiate new economic relationships in Asia and beyond.

Take the example of this week's UK-Japanese trade talks which have seen Tokyo taking diplomatic umbrage at what has been reported as the "high-handed" approach of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. The desire of Mr Fox and Mr Hunt to try to secure a speedy agreement with Japan, with their "time is of the essence" calls, backfired, prompting Japan to consider postponing the talks.

And this comes after Tokyo has already decided against replicating in a post-Brexit UK trade treaty the terms of the agreement Japan recently reached with the EU. Tokyo is instead reportedly seeking a tougher stance amid the alarm of many Japanese firms, which employ some 140,000 UK-based employees, over the prospect of a no-deal Brexit withdrawal next month.