Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has said his country would welcome Britain into the trans-pacific trade deal with "open arms" after Brexit.
Urging the use of "wisdom" as the negotiations between London and Brussels enter a critical phase, Mr Abe also expressed concern over the prospect of a "disorderly" no-deal scenario.
He told the Financial Times that while Britain would lose its role as a gateway to the EU after withdrawing from the bloc it would still be a country "equipped with global strength".
The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP) is an agreement between 11 counties, including Vietnam, Canada, Australia and Japan. It did include the United States, but Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement last year.
Before the formal ratification of the deal, however, the Japanese leader said the pact would be "meaningless" without the United States - raising questions over its current effectiveness.
Referring to the withdrawal talks, Mr Abe also told the newspaper: "I hope that both sides can contribute their wisdom and at least avoid a so-called disorderly Brexit.
"I truly hope that the negative impact of Brexit to the global economy, including Japanese businesses, will be minimised."
The fresh remarks from Mr Abe - likely to delight Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party - came as reports emerged that Theresa May is aiming to break the deadlock in Brussels over the highly contentious issue of the Irish border.
It is claimed the prime minister is seeking to keep the EU's present customs arrangements beyond the end of the proposed transition period of December 2020. But Brexiteers are likely to highlight the UK would only be able to accept Mr Abe's invitation to enter a pact as long as the country is outside the EU's customs union, with the ability to set its own tariffs.
The reports emerged as Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, said the chances of reaching a breakthrough in the talks had increased in recent days - suggesting an agreement could be reached within two weeks, in time for the mid-October summit.
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