Tokyo: Japan has announced it will ease its self-imposed arms export ban for the first time in almost 50 years. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has approved a new plan that replaces the 1967 blanket ban.
In the past all military sales have effectively been banned, although there has been technology transfer to the US. The new settings will allow Japan to jointly develop arms with allies and give its defence industry access to new markets and technology.
“We have made the procedure for transfer of defence equipment more transparent,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said. “That will contribute to peace and international cooperation from the standpoint of proactive pacifism.
Supporters hope the relaxation in the policy will boost home-grown arms manufacturers at a time of growing regional tensions, including with China and North Korea.
Japanese arms could potentially be shipped to Indonesia as well as nations around the South China Sea such as the Philippines, which has a territorial dispute with Beijing. Any move to bolster support with more outright weapon supplies could irk China, which accuses Japan of increasing militarism.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei says Beijing is paying close attention to the relaxation of Tokyo’s arms ban. “The policy changes of Japan in military and security areas concern the security environment and strategic stability of the whole region,” he said.
(With AFP inputs)