UK, Japan strike £18 billion investment pact spanning wind and finance
What's new: Downing Street said Japanese firms could put more than £9 billion into offshore wind and another £9 billion into infrastructure and financial services.
Britain and Japan agreed an investment pact valued at up to £18 billion, with Downing Street saying Japanese companies will channel more than £9 billion into UK infrastructure and financial services and up to £9 billion into offshore wind over five years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and business leaders in London as Britain looks for growth amid a weak economic outlook. Downing Street said the plans would support tens of thousands of jobs, though it was not clear how much of the total reflects fresh spending rather than projects already in the pipeline. The two sides also reaffirmed support for the Gcap fighter jet program with Italy, and Rolls-Royce signed a separate agreement with Japan's Atomic Energy Agency on next-generation nuclear technology.