Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help increase exports to Japan since 2022.

In September 2023, the Secretary of State held the first UK-Japan Economic, Business and Trade Dialogue. As a result, UK Export Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, which will support UK exporters including SMEs.

In October 2023, the Joint Committee of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) noted that, in 2022, the value of UK exports to Japan benefitting from the agreement increased approximately 1.5-fold on the previous year. Further, that resolution of a market access barrier on UK exports of cooked poultry had been achieved, which industry estimates could be worth £10 million over 5 years.