TOKYO, Sept. 25, 2022–Two days before the late prime minister Shinzo Abe’s state funeral, his nationalist proteges and friends Sept. 25 launched a big balloon to tell the world that Japan will accelerate defense equipment exports with the government initiative.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, his supporters, Defense Ministry and other ministry bureaucrats by year-end would amend the 2013 National Security Strategy that he had forced parliament to abrogate the post-war defense equipment export policy of 1) banning arms exports. 2) restrain (not strictly banning) arms exports to countries and regions that are not identified as subject to total exports ban, 3) treat arms manufacturing equipment exports as comparable to arms exports.
The Sept. 25 Yomiuri newspaper article said the government decided to amend the 2013 strategy in light of the dwindling Japanese defense industry that presently can sell only to the Japanese defense ministry. Since 2013, as many as 100 Japanese defense contractors pulled out of the industry, it said. Even after the relaxing of the three export ban principles in 2013, Japan has exported only one defense system — a radar system to the Philippines, it said.
The Japanese business lobby, Keidanren, has been urging the government to crease the Japanese version of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales arrangement allowing Japanese defense contractors to export arms to allies.
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