Koizumi to push warship, radar exports during S.E. Asia trip
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi plans to visit the Philippines and Indonesia in early May, where he is expected to discuss the expansion of security cooperation and defense equipment exports.
According to multiple Defense Ministry sources, Koizumi plans to travel to the two countries during the Golden Week holidays in May for talks with Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro and Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
The visits come as the Japanese government plans to revise, as early as April, the operational guidelines for the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology.
The changes come amid intensifying geopolitical rivalries and Japan's growing engagement in international defense-industrial projects.
www.japantimes.co.jp
In a major policy shift, Japan has abolished restrictions limiting military equipment transfers to five nonlethal categories, paving the way for the export of lethal weapons — a move that could help the country’s defense industry compete on the global stage.
Based on a proposal from the ruling coalition, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi approved the changes at a meeting on Tuesday, classifying defense equipment into two categories: “weapons,” or lethal systems such as warships, tanks and missiles, and “nonweapons,” or nonlethal equipment such as radars and protective gear.
Decisions on whether to export lethal weapons will be examined by the National Security Council, which includes the prime minister and relevant ministers,
and be limited to countries that have defense equipment and tech transfer deals with Japan.
Tokyo currently maintains such arrangements with 17 nations, a number that government officials expect to grow.
While weapon exports to countries engaged in active armed conflicts will, in principle, be prohibited, the new policy includes a provision for “exceptional circumstances” based on Japan’s security needs. Notably, no such restrictions will apply to transfers of nonlethal equipment.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular news conference Tuesday that the aim is to deepen cooperation with allies and like-minded partners and improve “sustained combat capabilities” in the event of an emergency.
“These decisions are intended to ensure Japan’s security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the international community amid accelerating changes in the security environment surrounding our country,” the government’s top spokesman said.
“Today, no country can safeguard its own peace and security on its own.”
In a post to X Tuesday afternoon, Takaichi countered criticism that the eased rules represent a break from Japan’s postwar pacifism and its “exclusively defense-oriented policy.”
“There is absolutely no change in our commitment to upholding the path we have taken as a peaceful nation over the past 80 years since the end of the war, as well as our fundamental principles,” she wrote.
Government officials say they “intend to further solidify” Japan’s defense export plans as discussions ramp up on revising the country’s three strategic security documents by the year-end.
Intensifying geopolitical rivalries, Japan’s growing engagement in international defense-industrial projects and a winning bid to sell warships to Australia presented Takaichi with a unique opportunity to enact these changes, particularly after the bloc’s landslide election victory in February.
The revisions, which do not require parliamentary authorization, will also allow transfers of jointly developed weapons and systems to third countries following Cabinet approval. This would include the sale of the sixth-generation fighter aircraft Japan is developing alongside Britain and Italy under the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP).
The government did, however, announce plans to strengthen the monitoring of lethal weapons after export to prevent their diversion to other countries.
In the event inspections are deemed necessary, the revised guidelines also allow for on-site probes in recipient nations.
“We intend to verify the status of weapons’ management and maintenance measures, as well as procedures for handling the loss of weapons,” a senior Cabinet official said. “If possible, we plan to send staff from Tokyo to visit the sites in person to conduct these checks.”
At Tuesday’s news conference, Kihara responded to questions about the effectiveness of these safeguards by saying that the arms transfers “will be subject to even stricter case-by-case scrutiny.”
“We will ensure the implementation of these measures for strict review and proper management, and we intend to explain the necessity and significance of these reforms to the public more thoroughly than ever before,” he said.
Separate from the guideline revisions, the government also plans to create a “control tower” framework overseen by high-level bureaucrats from the National Security Council as well as several ministries and agencies.
Officials admitted, however, that the monitoring apparatus is something they only expect to take shape “gradually” as transfers proceed.
PS India is one of the 17 nations.
