Related Articles
Top Stories
May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 27 2012 13:09
The oversupply of golf estates has claimed another victim.
May 28 2012 07:53
The City of Cape Town has spent R175m running the Myciti bus service since the Soccer World Cup compared to an income of R35m, a report says.
Tokyo - Britain's business secretary urged Japan to ease restrictions on foreign investment and expressed hope in the new government's "internationalist stance."
Wrapping up a three-day visit to Tokyo that ended on Tuesday, Peter Mandelson said Japanese regulatory reform is key to expanding bilateral economic cooperation, which would strengthen both countries in the aftermath of deep recession.
Mandelson, who met with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Monday, praised the leader for his "willingness to challenge old thoughts." Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan unseated the conservative Liberal Democrats from power in parliamentary elections this summer.
"The worst thing we can do is to take our relationship for granted," he told reporters at the British Embassy in Tokyo. "I have confidence that the new Japanese government will not allow that to happen."
His comments on the world's second largest economy have softened from those made during his previous trip to Japan in April 2008.
Then serving as the European Union's trade commissioner, Mandelson described Japan as "the most closed investment market in the developed world" that took advantage of opportunities overseas without offering the world similar access at home.
Within the EU, the UK is the biggest recipient of Japanese foreign direct investment.
Japan has long been criticised for its resistance to foreign investors through a myriad of regulations and bureaucratic red tape. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks the country last among major economies in terms of inward investment from abroad.
Rules prevent foreigners from taking majority ownership of companies in certain sectors including airlines, telecommunications and energy.
But Japan will prosper through greater integration with the world, just as the British economy has benefited from Japanese companies like Nissan Motor Co doing business in the UK, said Mandelson.
He cited Japan and Britain's commitment to fostering low-carbon economies as one promising area for greater cooperation. In a speech at the United Nations last month, Hatoyama promised to cut Japan's greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.
"A low-carbon economy is not a threat to economic recovery," Mandelson said. "It's the key to sustainable recovery."
- AP