Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles.
The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security.
The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations other than the partners.
Photo: Reuters
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the changes are necessary given Japan’s security environment, but added that Japan’s pacifist principles remain unchanged.
“In order to achieve a fighter aircraft that meets the necessary performance and to avoid jeopardizing the defense of Japan, it is necessary to transfer finished products from Japan to countries other than partner countries,” Hayashi told reporters, adding that Tokyo would follow a strict approval process for jet sales.
“We have clearly demonstrated that we will continue to adhere to our basic philosophy as a peaceful nation,” he said.
Japan has long restricted arms exports under the pacifist constitution, but has rapidly taken steps to deregulate amid rising regional and global tensions, especially from nearby China.
The decision on jets would allow Japan to export lethal weapons it coproduces to other nations for the first time.
Japan is working with Italy and the UK to develop an advanced fighter jet to replace its aging fleet of US-designed F-2 jets, and the Eurofighter Typhoons used by the British and Italian militaries.
Japan, which was previously working on a homegrown design to be called the F-X, agreed in December 2022 to merge its effort with a British-Italian program called the Tempest for deployment in 2035. The joint project, known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), is based in the UK.
Japan hopes the new plane would offer advanced capabilities Japan needs amid growing tensions in the region, giving it a technological edge against regional rivals China and Russia.
Following its wartime past as an aggressor and the devastation that followed its defeat in World War II, Japan adopted a constitution that limits its military to self-defense. The nation long maintained a strict policy to limit transfers of military equipment and technology, and ban all exports of lethal weapons.
Opponents have criticized Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government for committing to the fighter jet project without providing an explanation to the public or seeking approval for the major policy change.
To address such concerns, the government is limiting exports of codeveloped lethal weapons to the jet for now, and has promised that no sales would be made for use in active wars.
The government also assured that the revised guideline for the time being only applies to the jet and that it would require Cabinet approval to do so. Potential purchasers would also be limited to the 15 nations with which Japan has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals.
Recent polls suggest that public opinion is divided on the plan.
Japan in 2014 began to export some nonlethal military supplies, and in a latest move in December last year it approved a change that would allow sales of 80 lethal weapons and components that it manufactures under licenses from other nations back to the licensors. The change cleared the way for Japan to sell US-designed Patriot missiles to the US, helping replace munitions that Washington is sending to Ukraine.
In its decision, the Cabinet said that the arms export ban on finished products would hinder efforts to develop the new jet and limit Japan to a supporting role in the project. Italy and the UK are eager to make sales of the jet to defray development and manufacturing costs.
Kishida sought Cabinet approval before signing the GCAP agreement last month, but it was delayed by resistance from his junior coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito party.
The change also comes as Kishida is planning a state visit to Washington next month, where he is expected to stress Japan’s readiness to take on a greater role in military and defense industry partnerships.
Exports would also help boost Japan’s defense industry, which historically has catered only to the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as Kishida seeks to build up the military. Despite its effort over the past decade, the industry has still struggled to draw customers.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
RSS