Britain signs first major post-Brexit trade agreement with Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Britain and Japan formally signed a trade agreement on Friday, marking Britain's first big post-Brexit deal on trade, as it continues to struggle to agree on a deal with its closest trading partners in the European Union.

Britain formally left the EU in January and it has focused on negotiating new trade pacts with countries around the world as its status-quo transition period ends on Dec. 31.

"How fitting it is to be in the land of the rising sun to welcome in the dawn of a new era of free trade," British Trade Secretary Liz Truss told reporters after the signing ceremony in Tokyo.