[ferro-alloys.com]Japan is urging both the EU and UK to protect its interests and advising both Japan does not support a no-deal Brexit, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko told a news conference in Tokyo Friday.

On Thursday, the UK parliament passed a resolution urging the government to seek an extension to the March 29 deadline for leaving the EU, which needs to be approved by all EU countries.

"It is uncertain how long the extension will be and whether the EU will approve it. If there is no extension and the UK exits without a deal it will have a massive impact on Japanese businesses," Seko said.

"I will monitor the situation surrounding Brexit closely and provide up-to-date information to Japanese businesses. I will communicate our position to the EU and UK to avoid a negative impact on Japanese businesses," he said.

Honda's announcement said in February that it was closing its Swindon car assembly plant in 2021, has become an issue between the two countries.

Seko's UK counterpart, State Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark, chairs the Swindon Taskforce, a group of local and national government representatives aimed to prevent Honda's departure.

"Honda has described its announcement as not being related to Brexit, but to the changes that are taking place in the automotive sector...our first priority is to make the case to Honda that investment in vehicles of the future is best down in Swindon," Clark said.

A Honda Motor spokesman said Friday when asked by S&P Global Platts whether Clark would visit the company's headquarters in Tokyo to discuss the future of the Swindon plant that they had not received any communication from him.

Separately, Toyota said Friday it plans to boost investment in its US automotive plants by $3 billion over the next three years.

Seko declined to comment on how Toyota's decisions would affect the Japan-US trade talks, saying investment decisions were up to individual enterprises.

Japan's foreign minister, Taro Kono, said Friday said his efforts to prevent a no-deal Brexit had yielded nothing.

"There is a lack of legal stability and clarity [in the UK's future] and this is impacting the decision-making of Japanese businesses. I urge the UK to present a clear vision," he said.

（S&P Global Platts）

• [Editor:王可]