Prime Ministers Sir Keir Starmer and Sanae Takaichi have announced a deal that will see Japanese firms investing up to $24 billion (£18 billion) in the United Kingdom in infrastructure, financial services, and renewable energy sectors. The Downing Street has said these investments will generate tens of thousands of jobs.
The United Kingdom and Japan on Sunday announced that they have agreed to a $24 billion (£18 billion) investment deal.
Prime Ministers Sir Keir Starmer of the UK and Sanae Takaichi of Japan announced that they have agreed to a slew of agreements that will see Japanese firms investing up to £18 billion in the United Kingdom in infrastructure, financial services, and renewable energy sectors.
Under the deal, Japanese firms will invest around £9 billion on British infrastructure and financial services and up to £9 billion on British offshore wind, creating tens of thousands of jobs, according to the British’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The deal also involves Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate, Mitsui Fudosan, Nomura Real Estate, among others, investing billions over the next five years on infrastructure and real estate projects in the UK.
Starmer hailed the deal was the “new era of co-operation” between the UK and Japan.
The announcement has come at a time when the British economy has been struggling. In the January-March quarter, the economy grew 0.6 per cent, the fastest for any G-7 economy, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the West Asia conflict will hit the UK the hardest among advanced economics.
Takaichi visited London to hold talks with Starmer before their engagements at the G-7 Summit in France.
During their talks, Starmer also said he was “really pleased” that the UK and Japan remained committed to the Gcap project to build a sixth-generation fighter plane along with Italy.
These announcements have also come at a time when countries are ramping up bilateral engagements to cut their dependence on the United States for both imports and exports and looking for alternatives. As US President Donald Trump has pursued a coercive campaign, the UK has also sought a closer economic and trade relationship with the European Union (EU) and India.
Under the deal, Rolls-Royce would work with Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency to develop next generation nuclear technologies. One of the agreements would also see British research and development and software expertise linking up with Japanese manufacturing.
First Published:
June 15, 2026, 09:24 IST
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