By ZACHARY FRYER-BIGGS
WASHINGTON — Following an April decision to rewrite its export laws to allow broader sales of defense products, Japan is preparing for a new wave of deals as it tries to strengthen security bonds in the face of rapid Chinese military growth and continued regional tensions.
The change to the rules that govern defense exports were years in the making as Japan increasingly moves from its post-World War II, purely pacifist, defense ideology. But in recent years the security equation has shifted, with major players such as the US confronting reduced or flat budgets and the cost of advanced weapons programs necessitating international cost-sharing.
It was the need to participate in international programs that drove the latest round of reforms, said Jun Kazeki, director of the Security Export Control Policy Division of Japan’s trade ministry.
“We decided to go ahead with the F-35 program but we needed additional exemptions because of the third party transfer issue,” said Kazeki, who was in Washington for meetings.
With parts for the F-35 program being manufactured around the world, participating nations have to ship parts all over the globe to be re-exported down the line. That was exceedingly difficult for Japan, since the policy created an almost impossible standard for export that recipient countries could neither be involved in a conflict nor “likely” to be involved in a conflict.
Given the uncertainty of security arrangements in the modern era, guaranteeing that a country would avoid conflict is ostensibly impossible.
Read the full story at DefenseNews