The Japanese and U.S. governments pledged close coordination over fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union, which has sparked global economic uncertainty and doubts about continued European unity.
Speaking to reporters after talks Monday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama said the two nations will act to cushion the blow.
"We agreed that Japan and the United States will coordinate and make maximum efforts so that this issue will not have an unnecessary impact on the international community," Sugiyama said. "Japan and the United States agree Britain shares basic values with the two countries and that Britain is an important country with which they have firm cooperative relations in various areas, such as the political, economic and security fields."