Letter: Japanese firms in Britain

Sir: I believe that Peter Popham's article (15 May) on Japanese companies in Britain ignores several organisations, notably in the financial sector, that have been operating in London for decades. When the Tokai Bank opened a London branch in 1963, companies such as Marubeni and Sumitomo Bank were already here. In fact Sumitomo was operating in London before the Second World War, during which the company took an understandable break from its European operations.

Mark Kobayashi-Hillary

Treasury Department

The Tokai Bank Ltd

London, EC2