Japan Lifts Decadeslong Ban on Export of Weapons
By CHESTER DAWSON
TOKYO—Japan's cabinet decided Tuesday to effectively lift a four-decade self-imposed ban on weapons shipments that has nominally prohibited Japanese arms makers from joint development and export of military technology.
The move to abandon the Cold War-era restrictions comes as Japan seeks to defer costs for developing and manufacturing advanced technology in areas such as ballistic-missile defense and jet fighters. While there have been many exceptions in the past, the decision marks the first major revision since the ban was introduced in 1967 and tightened in 1976.
"Whereas previously exceptions have been granted on a case-by-case basis, we will now institutionalize exceptions in a comprehensive manner," chief government spokesman Osamu Fujimura told reporters, adding that Japan would continue to uphold the principle of not exporting weapons where it might prolong international conflicts or violate embargoes.
The policy shift came during a national security council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who has taken a more hawkish stance on defense issues than his two most recent predecessors, who also considered relaxing the ban.
The decision won the immediate backing of the U.S., which has urged Japan to speed transfers of jointly developed military technology to other allies. "The announcement on new standards associated with Japan's three principles should provide opportunities for Japan that would be supportive of the Alliance and are consistent with Japan's obligations to international export-control regimes," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
Japan's leading big-business lobby, the Keidanren, which has been one of the strongest proponents of easing the arms-export ban, also welcomed the move. Keidanren Chairman Hiromasa Yonekura called it a "groundbreaking" development deserving "high praise," in a statement after the cabinet decision.
Japanese industrial interests and hawkish members of parliament have long pushed for overturning the ban, but the issue has been sensitive because of Japan's post-World War II commitment to pacifism. The revision was hotly debated last year. It was expected to accompany a new midterm defense plan announced a year ago, but that proposal was shelved after strong opposition from a minority partner in Japan's coalition government, headed by then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The decision Tuesday follows Mr. Kan's replacement by Mr. Noda in September and Japan's decision last week to buy 42 of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s pricey F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter planes to replace its Air Self Defense Force's aging fleet of 1960s-era F-4 jets.
Japan said it plans to spend some ¥1.6 trillion ($20.8 billion) on the program over the next 20 years, and hopes to offset some of the costs of procuring and partially producing the aircraft domestically by exporting components to other F-35 buyers. The rising cost associated with producing military hardware that could technically be used only in Japan was a major factor prompting the export-ban reassessment.
It is still unclear which parts of the advanced stealth fighter will be made in Japan, as discussions between Lockheed Martin and the Defense Ministry aren't expected to take place until next year. But government and industry officials in Tokyo have signaled that they expect to win some contracts in a globally scaled program for as many as 3,000 F-35 jets. Lockheed didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., IHI Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. will participate in production of the planes, the defense ministry said.
Japan's commitment to abstain from arms exports, enshrined in its so-called three principles, was designed to prevent weapons shipments to the communist bloc at the height of the Cold War, as well as to countries under United Nations arms embargoes and war zones. By showcasing the country's avowedly pacifist orientation, they also helped allay concerns about Japan's remilitarization, even as the country's Self Defense Forces seemed at odds with a constitutional renunciation of the use of force.
A strict interpretation of the ban would prevent the U.S. and other allies from exporting systems that contained Japanese-developed components. But over the years, Japanese officials have gradually chipped away at the policy, creating exceptions when the rules seemed to get in the way of key projects, such as joint-development programs with the U.S.
Most recently, the U.S. Defense Department last year pressured Japan to create an exception to its rules to allow the U.S. to sell to Europe missile interceptors developed with Japan.
While Japan has avidly developed and deployed advanced military technology, it faces pressure from the deterioration of its fiscal balance sheet. The country's defense budget—at ¥4.6 trillion this year—has declined for nearly a decade amid a debt-to-gross domestic product ratio that has soared to 200%.
—George Nishiyama and Takashi Nakamichi contributed to this article.
