Japan warns that no deal Brexit must be avoided at all costs at Brussels summit

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, has said that a no deal Brexit must be avoided at all costs at a summit with European Union chiefs in Brussels. Mr Abe said that Japanese companies needed a predictable business environment to continue their operations in the UK before calling on the EU and Britain to ensure a smooth Brexit. Standing alongside Jean-Claude Juncker., the president of the European Commission and Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Mr Abe said that Japanese firms had invested in Britain because it was a 'gateway to Europe'.