Thousands of new jobs and huge boost to British economy

The UK and Japan are expected to agree investment creating tens of thousands of new jobs and more than £18 billion in economic gains, alongside a new partnership at the forefront of next-generation technologies.

Together the deals will back British industries across technology, clean energy, infrastructure development, and life sciences, supporting long-term growth across the country. These are sectors at the heart of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and building on a relationship with Japan already worth £140 billion.

The Prime Minister will welcome his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi to Downing Street today [Sunday] ahead of the G7 in Évian-les-Bains.

Japanese and British business leaders will join the two prime ministers for a roundtable discussion on future opportunities for economic growth where over ten commercial and government agreements are expected to be signed.

The visit delivers a major vote of confidence in the UK economy, with Japanese investors setting out a five-year investment pipeline worth more than £9 billion, expected to build new towns and provide high-quality office space and innovation hubs.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

These landmark agreements will bring multibillion pound investment into the UK, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and driving new developments.

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.

At the heart of the visit will be a landmark Offshore Wind Compact, developed in close partnership with Great British Energy to unlock up to £9 billion in Japanese investment into the UK’s offshore wind sector.

It will support the development of 5.9GW of floating offshore wind projects in the UK, including the Ossian and Green Volt projects off the East Coast in Scotland alongside the Erebus project in the Celtic Sea.

These pioneering projects will support jobs across the country, and when built, generate enough clean electricity to power 8 million homes.

By boosting homegrown clean energy, the deal will help reduce reliance on volatile global fossil fuel markets, strengthen energy security, help get bills down for good, and makes the UK Japan’s leading clean energy partner in Europe.

Hitachi Energy UK is set to create at least 500 new jobs over the next five years, providing vital expansion of the UK grid and bringing clean power that delivers growth. This includes 100 highly skilled roles at Hitachi Energy’s newly opened Glasgow Centre of Excellence, and over £18 million investment in a purpose-built facility in Stafford.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce will deepen collaboration with Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency signing a new agreement with the UK National Nuclear Laboratory to develop next generation nuclear technologies. And our national laboratories (UKAEA and QST) and leading private companies will deepen their collaboration on fusion energy.

Communities like Hatfield are set to benefit from the package of deals, where Japanese life science firm, Eisai, is set to invest £48 million. The investment will create a new packaging facility for its innovative dementia treatment, backed by government funding.

The leaders are also expected to agree a new partnership to accelerate cooperation on the technologies of the future. The cutting-edge UK-Japan Frontier Tech Partnership (FTP), will see British research translated into scalable technology with Japanese investment, from AI and quantum, to civil nuclear and defence tech.

Building on momentum from London Tech Week, the FTP will deliver groundbreaking impact for the UK and Japan. This includes British firm ORCA Computing landing a landmark export deal – one of the first times a major corporation anywhere in the world has bought a quantum computer.

For the first time, a formal partnership between the UK Semiconductor Centre and Rapidus, Japan’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, creates a direct pathway for the UK semiconductor sector to manufacture cutting-edge chips used to power mobile phones, vehicles and modern devices.

During the meeting, the Prime Ministers are expected to confirm their shared commitment to the Global Combat Air Programme, and discuss the launch of the next phase of the international programme, including through the international contract that will be signed by the end of the month.

A new Defence Capability and Industrial Council will foster greater industrial cooperation between the UK and Japan, accelerating the development of each other’s dual-use technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence, helping UK defence firms access significant Japanese investment.

Notes

• The full breakdown of investment announcements here:
  • Mitsubishi Estate – to invest £2 billion over five years to deliver a UK pipeline with gross development value of £5.3bn, creating up to 17,000 jobs during construction.
  • Mitsui Fudosan – to invest £3.8 billion over five years to deliver a UK pipeline with gross development value of £5.8 billion, creating circa 15,000 jobs during construction.
  • Nomura Real Estate – investment commitment worth £500 million over five years, creating up to 8,000 jobs.
  • L&G, has announced the groundbreaking of a new £135 million London housing development funded in partnership with Nomura Real Estate Development. The 278-home site, of which over 30% will be Affordable Homes, marks Nomura’s first investment into building new homes in the UK and is part of L&G’s longstanding commitment to add to the supply of housing in the UK.
  • Mizuho Financial Group is committed to expanding its UK operations with the ambition to deploy £3 billion over the coming years. Its recent acquisition of Augusta & Co Ltd will further enhance the company’s advisory capabilities focused on the energy transition sector.
  • Eisai – £48m to expand the capabilities of Eisai Manufacturing Ltd at Hatfield. Eisai’s investment is backed by the government’s Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund and subject to final agreement on terms and conditions.
  • Hitachi – £18m into a purpose built facility in Stafford.
  • The UK-Japan Offshore Wind Compact will help facilitate up to £9 billion worth of Japanese investment for UK offshore wind. This investment will support the development of 5.9GW of floating offshore wind projects in the UK, which Japanese companies have a stake in. This includes Ossian and Green Volt projects in the North Sea, alongside the Erebus project in the Celtic Sea.
• M&G and Daiichi Life Group’s landmark partnership secured £4.5 billion of new investment from Daiichi into M&G-managed funds, now being deployed across public and private markets – reinforcing the UK’s position as a centre for long-term capital while supporting product innovation and international market expansion.
• UK and Japanese national laboratories (UKAEA and QST) are agreeing to deepen collaboration on fusion energy research, supported by Furukawa Electric and Tokamak Energy’s agreement to an MoU to launch a phased programme to explore options for a new UK-based fusion R&D facility. This follows the UK government’s £2.5 billion investment into fusion to put at the forefront of the global race for the technology.
• The value of the UK relationship with Japan comprises FDI stock at the end of 2024 (sourced from ONS Foreign direct investment involving UK companies 2024) plus trade in 2025 (sourced from ONS UK total trade: all countries Q4 2025)
• The commercial agreements deepen cooperation as set out in the UK-Japan Industrial Strategy Partnership announced at the UK-Japan Strategic Economic Policy and Trade Dialogue in Tokyo in March 2025, and covers cooperation in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industry, defence, life sciences and technology.

source: GOV