Scottish minister set to visit Japan on three-day tour in boost for Scotland-Japan trade links

Scotland is to boost trade links with Japan in a three-day ministerial visit this week.

Energy secretary Neil Gray will travel to Japan this week to deepen ties with existing investors and encourage new business links. In Osaka and Tokyo, he will meet current and potential investors in Scotland’s offshore wind, hydrogen and low carbon heat industries.

Mr Gray said: “Scotland’s extensive renewables capabilities are already recognised globally. Projects in the pipeline for this coming decade hold enormous opportunities to create new manufacturing and supply chain opportunities as we deliver a net zero economy.

“From the development of ScotWind, which commits developers to investing more than £27 billion in Scotland’s supply chain, to the expansion of our hydrogen sector, we want to grasp the chance of further inward investment to secure our just transition to net zero.”

Pedestrians cross a street in Tokyo's Shinjuku area. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

The minister added: “My aim for this visit is to take further, tangible steps to realise the economic benefits of Scotland’s position as a renewables powerhouse. Developing inward investment opportunities will unlock the opportunities the global renewables revolution presents.”

Three years ago, then-international trade secretary for the UK Government, Liz Truss, and Japan’s foreign minister Motegi Toshimitsu signed an agreement that meant iconic Scottish products, including Scotch beef, native Shetland wool and Stornaway black pudding, were protected in Japan for the first time under a new agreement on geographical indicators.

Official figures show Scottish businesses exported £503.4 million in goods to Japan in 2019. Scotch whisky distillers benefit from tariff-free trade in the country.