Japan Goes Public With Brexit Demands, Says Data Flow Deals Must Be Protected (arstechnica.com)

Kelly Fiveash, writing for ArsTechnica:UK Prime minister Theresa May said at the weekend that she wanted to take her time to secure the best trade deals for a post-Brexit Britain, and reiterated -- in her trademark vague terms -- that the so-called Article 50 won't be triggered this year. But political pressure from governments as far away as Japan continues to mount. On Sunday, in a bold move, the Japanese government published a 15-page memo setting out a number of demands it wants the UK to adhere to, once it leaves the European Union. It underscored that Britain faces a torrid time of negotiations -- not just with member states in the EU, but further afield, too. Japan, which has close economic ties with the UK, listed its demands based on requests from businesses in the country. It said; "It is of great importance that the UK and the EU maintain market integrity and remain attractive destinations for businesses where free trade, unfettered investment, and smooth financial transactions are ensured." It's brutal stuff from Japan, and could well lead to other countries making similarly robust demands. On tech specifically, the Japanese government called on the UK and EU, post-Brexit, to maintain cloud agreements between businesses at an international level, by safeguarding the "free transfer of data."

Comments

Japanese focus on Britain

[allcoolnameswheretak]

Half of Japan's investments into EU have gone into Britain, seeing as a gateway to the EU. Now they are scared shitless that they have bet on the wrong horse. EU tariffs on cars and other products produced in GB means all those factories were built on the wrong side of the channel.

Re:Meanwhile the EU is saying...

[Noryungi]

The EU being unresponsive to the desires of its populations is exactly why the UK left.

Not on this earth. The UK left because of diffuse and non-concrete fears that large waves of refugees might enter the country, coupled with latent racism against Polish immigrants.

... Not to mention 30 years of vicious, ultra-conservative propaganda against the EU. Just like Fox News in the USA is polluting the political discourse with crappy propaganda, the British tabloids have been spewing nonsense about the EU.

And the fact that both are owned by Rupert Murdoch should tell you a lot...