Japan's Foreign Minister said on Thursday he has pleaded with Britain to avoid a no-deal Brexit, as the candidates vying to be the next UK Prime Minister warn the country could leave the EU without an agreement.
Taro Kono said he had made the appeals in past and present meetings with his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who are currently battling to replace outgoing premier Theresa May.
"We're very concerned with (a) no-deal Brexit," he told BBC News on the eve of Japan hosting a two-day G20 summit in Osaka.
"We've been asking (the) UK government (to) let the Japanese companies know what they can expect.
"Whenever we've had meetings, that was one of the major issues: 'please, no no-deal Brexit'."
Noting that more than 1,000 Japanese companies currently operate in Britain, Kono warned a disorderly departure from the European Union risked disrupting investment.
"Many companies are worried about (the) implications because they don't know what's going to happen," he said.