The Guardian said:Trade talks will go ahead despite reported dismay at language used by Liam Fox and Jeremy Hunt
Japanese officials have reportedly accused Jeremy Hunt and Liam Fox of taking a "high-handed" approach towards a post-Brexit free trade deal, and briefly considered cancelling bilateral talks due to take place this week.
The letter, which British officials said had employed standard diplomatic language, had briefly prompted Japanese officials to consider cancelling trade talks in Tokyo this week, the paper reported.
According to the FT, they took exception to a line in which Hunt and Fox said "we are committed to [speed and flexibility] and hope that Japan is too", interpreting it as an intimation that the Japanese side lacked a sense of urgency.
An official at the Japanese foreign ministry confirmed that the trade talks would go ahead as scheduled, but declined to comment on the contents of the letter or Japan's response.
The newspaper also reported that Japanese trade officials were growing frustrated with their British counterparts, who had arrived at meetings without specialists capable of taking the talks forward.
Reports that Hunt and Fox's letter had irritated Japan are adding to scepticism over assurances made by Brexiters that Britain would ease its way into lucrative free trade deals once it leaves the EU.
To add to Britain's frustration, Japan has reportedly ruled out simply replicating the terms of a Japan-EU trade agreement that went into effect at the start of this month but which will be unavailable to the UK after Brexit. Instead, it will seek tougher concessions from Britain than it secured from the EU.
Reports of Japan's angry response to the tactics employed by Hunt and Fox emerged days after China abruptly cancelled a crucial trade meeting with the chancellor, Philip Hammond, due to take place in Beijing this week.
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Does Britain has any weight to throw around anymore?
