Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:59 pm on 30 January 2019.
Thank you. I think we've got a very long and proud tradition in terms of our relationships with Japan. Of course, we had a lot of companies move in in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and they really transformed parts of our communities. It's very sad to see now companies like Sony have said that they will be moving their headquarters out of the United Kingdom as a direct result of Brexit. So, that is something that, of course, we lament, but it’s happening already. The same thing, I think, is true for Panasonic. Wales Arts International is, I think, an organisation that has been looking at what we can do in relation to the Rugby World Cup. There are great opportunities. I've been speaking to somebody involved in promoting paintings and selling artwork abroad, and she's made a very comprehensive link with a museum out in Japan. So, already, things are building up towards that world cup, and I know that the Minister with responsibility for agriculture and rural affairs has expressed an interest in visiting Japan, because they've recently announced that they will be lifting their suspension of exports of Welsh lamb to Japan. So, there's a real opportunity for us to boost and to jump off this Rugby World Cup to find new markets at a time of real difficulty, in particular if we have some kind of 'no deal' Brexit, where it would be very difficult to export into our traditional markets.