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| US-2 (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Mina Pollmann
Opening Japan’s defense industry to the international market is a significant step, but it won’t happen overnight.
On April 1, 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted Japan’s arms embargo and established the “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology [PDF],” which allows Japan to export arms after proposals go through a rigorous screening process to ensure that the sale would promote international peace and Japan’s security. Even though the move to export arms has not garnered nearly as much attention nor controversy as Abe’s other security initiatives, this is a significant change in Japan’s defense posture.
Fast-forward a year and a half — Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) created the 1,800-person strong Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency (ATLA) on October 1 of this year to deal with many of the practical challenges that remain to implement this new export policy. A staff of 50 within ATLA will be dedicated specifically to arms export promotion.
On this historic occasion, this article will discuss what has motivated Abe’s new policy direction and explore the road ahead for Japan’s government and arms industry [PDF]. Even though the Japanese government is motivated by both industrial and strategic concerns, uncertainty about how these changes will be implemented and the lack of international demand for Japanese arms will pose major difficulties. The high-profile proposals with India and Australia, concerning the US-2 search and rescue aircraft and the Soryu submarine, respectively, are unusual, and in the future Japan is more likely to focus on expanding the exports of smaller parts rather than such big-ticket items.
Read the full story at The Diplomat