Tokyo has further drifted away from its proclaimed post-WWII pacifist stance, allowing arms sales to 17 nations
Japan has lifted restrictions on lethal arms sales, ending a ban on military exports imposed under the country’s pacifist constitution in 1947.
The move was announced on Tuesday by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative who had long advocated revising Japan’s pacifist constitution and further beefing up the country’s offensive military capabilities. The PM said the decision comes amid an increasingly challenging security environment, when “no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone.”
“Until now, the overseas transfer of domestically produced finished products had been limited to search and rescue, transportation, surveillance, and minesweeping equipment (the so-called ‘five categories’), but with this amendment, transfers of all defense equipment will in principle become possible,” Takaichi said in a statement.
Japanese companies will now be able to sell arms to 17 countries with which Tokyo has defensive equipment and technology transfer agreements, including the US, the UK, Australia, and multiple Southeast Asian nations. The relaxing of arms exports supposedly does not affect the country’s pacifist commitments, the PM asserted.
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