William Hague says Japan deserves more attention from Britain

Prime Minister Naoto Kan agreed Thursday with visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague to enhance bilateral relations, with Hague suggesting that the previous British government had almost neglected ties.

‘‘I do think that the relationship with Japan needs more attention from British ministers,’’ Hague told reporters after meeting with Kan at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo. ‘‘My visit today is part of that.’‘

Hague became British foreign minister in the government of new Prime Minister David Cameron following the general election defeat in May of the Labour Party, which had been in power for 13 years.

‘‘We have talked about how we can work together to strengthen the bilateral relationship far into the future,’’ Hague said, adding that he and Kan had discussed ‘‘economic opportunities.’‘

Referring to the value of trade between Japan and Europe as well as to the number of Japanese firms investing in Britain, he said, ‘‘There is no doubt this can be expanded greatly further in the future.’‘

Speaking to Japanese business representatives and members of the press at the residence of British Ambassador to Japan David Warren, Hague expressed his support for Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

‘‘Japan matters to Britain. You are our closest partner in Asia,’’ he said.


On the economic front, Hague urged Japan to remove trade barriers, referring to an estimate that the maximum removal of both tariffs and nontariff barriers in Japan could deliver 43 billion euros (4.85 trillion yen) of additional European Union exports to Japan and 53 billion euros of additional exports from Japan to the 27-nation bloc.

‘‘UK direct investment in Japan is currently lower than in any of the major Asian economies, even though you have the largest domestic market in the region,’’ Hague said, adding that eliminating trade barriers ‘‘would be good for all of our citizens.’’