UK and Japan Seal £18bn Investment Deal
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- UK and Japan agreed an £18bn investment deal, with Japanese firms committing more than £9bn to UK infrastructure and financial services and up to £9bn to offshore wind, creating tens of thousands of jobs, per Downing Street.
- Keir Starmer described talks with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi as "very productive," saying the deal builds a "new era of co-operation" between the two nations.
- It remains unclear how much of the announced investment represents new money versus previously announced plans, the source notes.
- Takaichi and Starmer reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to the GCap fighter jet programme being developed alongside Italy.
- Rolls-Royce will partner with Japan's Atomic Energy Agency on next-generation nuclear technologies, with a separate technology agreement linking UK R&D and software expertise with Japanese manufacturing.
- Andrew Griffith, the Conservative shadow business and trade secretary, welcomed "any deal that brings investment" but attacked Labour's "tax hikes and employer red tape" as destroying jobs.
- The UK economy grew 0.6% in Q1 — the fastest of any G7 nation — but the IMF expects sluggish near-term growth, saying the US-Israel war with Iran will hit Britain hardest among advanced economies.
Why it matters: Starmer is banking on £18bn in Japanese capital to jumpstart UK growth, but the article's caveat that the split between new and previously announced money is unclear undermines the headline figure. The deal also deepens UK-Japan defence and nuclear ties at a moment when the IMF says the US-Israel-Iran conflict will hit the UK hardest among advanced economies.
