The impact of Brexit on the economic, political and social relationship between Japan and the European Union.

Abstract

In 2006, the President of the EU commission stated, “Japan is back” in a document discussing the potential of the relationship. However, years of inaction and wasted potential have followed. Within the EU, the UK always seemed to hold a special place in the heart of Japan, but Brexit challenged the nature of this. Despite this challenge, it seems a change has occurred within the relationship between Japan and the UK, which is now closer than before Brexit. The origins of this are not certain, but the impact of Brexit is. This thesis explores the development of the relationship between Japan and both the EU and the UK following the Brexit Referendum in 2016. Three key aspects of the impact following Brexit will be analysed: the political, economic, and social/cultural impact. This thesis aims to uncover some of the various indicators of change and their origin. The findings of this thesis seem to indicate that the referendum correlated with a shift amongst all members of the relationship to move towards deepening the relationship between Japan and the UK in almost all areas. Despite this, it is unclear if Brexit was the final trigger towards this movement or if it was the partnerships' natural and inevitable evolution.