Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed hope the United Kingdom and the European Union will manage to reach an agreement and avoid a hard Brexit. In an interview for the Financial Times, Abe said that the UK will "lose its role as a gateway to Europe" after the separation, but will remain an important country.
In the case the United Kingdom leaves the EU's customs union in 2019, it would be welcome to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the prime minister said.
The TPP was a trade agreement originally signed by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. After US President Donald Trump came into office, Washington withdrew from the accord, leaving the other members to renegotiate the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which incorporates most of the original provisions.
