Sir Keir Starmer will host Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi at Downing Street on Sunday to sign off on £18bn worth of investment — a deal the prime minister says will create tens of thousands of jobs — as he fends off a mounting leadership crisis at home.
More than ten commercial and government agreements are expected to be signed, including a £9bn offshore wind deal. Rolls-Royce will deepen its collaboration with Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency, signing a new agreement to develop next-generation technologies. Discussions will also cover helping UK defence firms access Japanese investment, No 10 said.
“UK and Japan set to agree £18bn investment deal creating thousands of jobs as Starmer faces domestic crisis after defence secretary resignation.”
“These landmark agreements will bring multibillion-pound investment into the UK, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and driving new developments,” Starmer said. “As G7 economies and close security partners, we are working together with Japan on some of the most innovative technology in the world, harnessing the best of British and Japanese research and industry to deliver growth and security to every corner of the United Kingdom.”
The announcement comes days after Starmer’s leadership survival plans were rocked by the shock resignation of John Healey as defence secretary over a dispute about long-term funding for the military. Healey was joined in his exit from government by armed forces minister Al Carns and two parliamentary aides, heaping pressure on the prime minister, who is already facing the threat of a leadership challenge.
Andy Burnham, who could be in line to challenge Starmer if he wins the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, criticised the Labour leader during a campaign speech on Saturday. Burnham warned that the UK is heading for the same “poisonous” politics as the US. “It doesn’t feel that we’re heading in the right direction. It doesn’t feel like we’re heading to better lives for people,” he told the audience. “Things are getting harder, and politics is getting more polarised, and the path we’re on, if we are not careful, is a path towards the politics of the United States of America, a polarised, poisonous politics where people in communities don’t work together any more.”