Britain, Japan sign post-Brexit trade deal

TOKYO: Britain hailed its first major post-Brexit trade deal Friday after signing an agreement with Japan that it said shows it can stand alone on the global stage, as talks on a pact with the European Union remain bogged down.

London said the pact, which was agreed after just a few months of talks over the summer, would boost business between the two by £15.2 billion ($19.5 billion) and proved others could be signed elsewhere. The deal comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pursues his “Global Britain” strategy that seeks potentially more advantageous trade deals than those that were negotiated while it was an EU member.