Theresa May has secured a much hoped-for formal commitment from Japan that both countries will seek to instantly replace an EU-Japan trade deal with a facsimile equivalent for the UK when Brexit happens.

The agreement, won during intensive talks with her Japanese counterpart, Shinzō Abe, was announced at a joint press conference in Tokyo.

It commits both nations to treating as an “immediate priority” the signing of a long-discussed economic partnership agreement, or EPA, between Japan and the UK.

The joint statement says: “As the UK exits the EU we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of the EPA.”

May hopes such instant copycat deals – termed “cut-and-paste Brexit” by opponents – could be reached with other nations, creating continuity and confidence. They would officially be interim but could last some years before bespoke UK deals are reached.

While Downing Street is trumpeting the agreement as proof that May’s three-day visit to Kyoto and Tokyo has been a success in allaying Japanese fears over disruption from Brexit, Abe remained publicly cautious in his public comments on the issue.

Three times during the press conference at the Akasaka palace in Tokyo, Abe stressed the need for Japanese firms to be reassured by a “transparent and predictable” Brexit process, echoing language he used earlier in the day at a business summit.

Britain was a “gateway to the EU” for many Japanese companies, Abe noted. “With this in mind, I have asked Prime Minister May for her continued consideration in ensuring transparency and predictability so as to minimise its impact on business activities, including Japanese companies.”

Abe repeated warm words about May after the pair talked intensively about Brexit and security over two days. “I really could feel the depth of the relationship,” he told the press conference, even praising May’s “excellent sense of fashion”.

But this was accompanied by several warnings over the possible impact of Brexit, sentiment unlikely to be aided by an apparent lack of progress at talks in Brussels this week.

“Our country would like to minimise the impact to companies because of Brexit, in the process of negotiations for Brexit,” Abe said. “I hope that transparency and predictability will be ensured. That would be very important.”

May promised to “listen to the voices of Japanese corporations” calling for a “smooth and orderly” Brexit.

A Downing Street source said the formal agreement on a swift replacement trade deal meant May’s trip to Japan was being viewed as “highly successful”.

“We’re particularly pleased with Prime Minister Abe’s comments on his faith in the UK economy beyond Brexit,” the source said.



“We’re also very pleased with the formal agreement that the deal they have with the EU can form the basis of our own bilateral trade agreement after we leave the EU. This is a really important step. It will offer continuity and certainly for businesses.”

May, who will leave Japan on Friday after an audience with Emperor Akihito, also met senior executives from Nissan, Hitachi and Toyota to seek to reassure them.

But May faced some caution from one of the business executives who travelled with her to Japan. Andy Palmer, chief executive of the British carmaker Aston Martin, said some companies would inevitably be delaying investment decisions while awaiting details on what a Brexit deal would mean for tariffs and other trade barriers.

“There will be a natural sense of uncertainty for a while. What we all hope is that while is not very long,” he told reporters after Abe and May spoke at a UK-Japan trade summit in Tokyo.

“The sooner we can get to a position where at least, for example, there will be no tariffs, that will be a big breakthrough, because that would allow you to invest with confidence.”

Palmer, part of a 25-member business delegation travelling with May, said the words of confidence from Japan were heartening, but he echoed Abe’s call for transparency.

“In my world, when you decide to design a new car, it takes four years and will probably cost you a billion dollars,” he said. “Those are big bets you have to put down and if you don’t know what your sales environment, or your manufacturing environment, is going to be like in four years, you can either hesitate to make the investment or you can make the investment with a certain degree of risk.

“So the more we can hear from the politicians in terms of what they think they’re going to negotiate, or what they are negotiating, where they’re being successful, where there are gaps, the quicker we can get to that, the more predictable we can make our investments.”

Palmer said Aston Martin was committed to the UK, but he added: “I can imagine that being more difficult if you’re sitting in Tokyo, Yokohama or Nagoya, or Germany somewhere.”