The new Japanese government has moved swiftly to make it clear that it intends to relax the rules covering exports of weapons abroad at a time of worsening global insecurity and rising defence spending.
Shinjiro Koizumi, who was named defence chief when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced her new cabinet on Tuesday, used his first press conference the following day to lay out the administration’s aims, adding that the revised policy had the full support of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP).
“Our country faces the harshest and most complicated international security environment since the end of World War II. It is necessary to further promote defence equipment exports,” Koizumi said.
“Based on the LDP-JIP agreement, we will advance necessary discussions with the related ministries and agencies.”
According to Koizumi, revisions will be made to the three principles that have until now guided defence equipment exports and the nation’s broader security tenets will also be updated.
