Japan, renowned for its pacifist constitution, is now setting its sights on the global arms exports market.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani earlier this month told Nikkei that he wanted to promote Japan’s defense exports, signaling a clear shift in the country’s arms policy, which has so far been largely focused on catering to the Japan Self-Defense Forces, or JSDF.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has also signaled sharper focus on the defense sector and became the first sitting prime minister to attend DSEI Japan, the country’s largest defense exhibition.
While the shift in stance comes at a time when global defense spending has been on the rise, Japan’s motivations are linked more to its security concerns than profiting from the surge in global arms demand, experts told CNBC.
The biggest reason behind this shift is to deepen ties and increase interoperability of Japanese forces with allies and partners, said Rintaro Inoue, research associate at the Institute of Geoeconomics, a Tokyo-based think tank.
