TOKYO (AP) - The Latest on British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Japan (all times local):
7:30 p.m.
The leaders of Britain and Japan have once again urged China to play a larger role in pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said in Tokyo on Thursday that China has leverage over North Korea and that she believes “we should be encouraging China to exercise that leverage.”
She and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke at a news conference after the two met on the second day of her three-day visit to Japan.
Abe called the launching of a North Korean missile over Japan earlier this week an unprecedented and outrageous act. He said that he and May had agreed to strengthen international pressure on North Korea, including seeking a greater Chinese role.
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5:45 p.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May says she wants to lay the foundations to take trade and investment with Japan “to a whole new level” as the U.K. leaves the European Union.
May spoke Thursday to business leaders in Tokyo, where some are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their operations in the United Kingdom.
The British leader said it is a formative period in shaping the future of her country, and that there are few places where the opportunities to deepen trade relations are greater than Japan.
Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, and triggered the formal two-year exit process in March.
May is visiting Japan for the first time as prime minister. The three-day trip is focusing on Brexit, trade and security issues.
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1:50 p.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has visited a Japanese warship ahead of a summit with her Japanese counterpart.
May boarded the Izumo on Thursday at a Japanese naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo. She is also going to attend a meeting of Japan’s National Security Council before her talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (SHIN’-zoh AH’-bay).
The British leader is on the second day of a three-day visit to Japan that is expected to focus on Brexit, trade and security.
She and Abe also met Wednesday after her arrival in Kyoto. The Japan side said that the two agreed to urge China to step up pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear weapons development.
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