UK, Japan agree tech partnership and vow fighter jet progress

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - The leaders of Britain and Japan announced a tech partnership on Sunday designed to boost national security and create jobs, and pledged to speed up the progress of their next generation fighter jet, GCAP.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi joined British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Sunday, along with a group of business leaders to discuss ways to deepen cooperation in areas including tech, green energy and defence.

Alongside announcements totalling £18 billion ($24 billion) on infrastructure, financial services and wind power, Takaichi said deep security ties were at the foundation of the countries' relationship.

"We concluded to further accelerate the progress of the Global Combat Air Program GCAP, which is the cornerstone of our security cooperation," she said through a translator.

GCAP is an effort to build a next-generation fighter to be developed ​by a joint venture of Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo and ​Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement, which is backed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Starmer's government, which is locked in a dispute over the need to spend more on defence, had said the two leaders would confirm their shared commitment to the project and discuss the launch of its next phase, with an international contract due to be signed by the end of the month.

Starmer, who could face a leadership challenge in the coming months, and Takaichi also announced a raft of projects they said would help build cooperation in areas such as AI, space, quantum computing and cybersecurity.

Included in the partnership are export deals for certain companies, manufacturing tie-ups and research projects involving some of the biggest corporate names in Britain and Japan such as Rolls-Royce, BAE and NEC Corporation.

"These landmark agreements will bring multi-billion pound investment into the UK, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and driving new developments," Starmer said.

($1 = 0.7459 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Kate Holton; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Helen Popper)