UK and Japan sign £18bn investment deal – Daily Business

Investment in Scotland is part of an £18 billion commitment to developing energy, technology and financial services announced today by the UK and Japan governments.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in Downing Street to reveal details of the partnership which has already delivered a number of key projects.

Japanese and British business leaders joined the two prime ministers for a roundtable discussion on future opportunities. Those represented included Mitsubishi Estate, Mitsui Fudosan and Nomura Real Estate.

At the heart of today’s announcement was a landmark Offshore Wind Compact, developed in close partnership with Great British Energy for up to £9bn in Japanese investment into the UK. 

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

These projects will generate enough clean electricity to power eight million homes and make the UK Japan’s leading clean energy partner in Europe.

Some of the investment listed has been previously announced, including Hitachi Energy’s newly-opened Glasgow Centre of Excellence and investment by Mitsui.

However, today’s announcement represents a statement of a future commitment that will see the two nations exchange technology innovation and investment in key infrastructure.

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.

Sir Keir said: “As G7 economies and close security partners, we are working together with Japan on some of the most innovative technology in the world.”

Separately, BAE Systems and NEC Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combine expertise for the implementation of active cyber defence (ACD) solutions for the Japanese Government.

BAE Systems said the MoU demonstrates the intent of both organisations to work together in various sectors beyond the defence domain, building on the momentum of the Japan-UK Strategic Cyber Partnership agreed by the respective Governments in January 2026.

The Labour government has been encouraging its ambassadors to introduce foreign businesses to UK expertise in the hope of developing international trade.

These include the ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom, who undertook a four-day tour of Scotland last October.

Ms Longbottom visited the Port of Nigg, on the Cromarty Firth, one of Scotland’s two Green Freeports. and Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone. She met representatives of Japanese company Sumitomo Electric, whose £350 million subsea cable factory will create 150 jobs and strengthen the UK’s renewable energy supply chain, as well as Mitsui, the Tokyo-based investor.