Under the connivance of the United States, Japan has repeatedly revised the export regulations of weapons and equipment——

　　Japan's release of weapons and equipment exports hides evil

　　On March 8, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces used transport planes to transport a large number of helmets and bulletproof vests to Ukraine.

So far, with the connivance of the United States, Japan's restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment are basically useless.

Japan attempts to rebuild a complete military-industrial system by exporting weapons and equipment on a large scale and restore its status as a military and political power, thereby achieving the so-called "national normalization" goal.

"Freak": The military industry that has long served the U.S. military

　　After the end of World War II, Japan's national belligerent was cancelled, and the export of weapons and equipment was also subject to many restrictions.

In order to guard against the forces of Japanese militarism and prevent Japan from competing with itself for the world arms sales market, the United States imposed various restrictions on the development of Japan's military industry.

　　Against this background, Japan has gradually formed a deformed military-industrial system that specializes in defensive equipment and specialized support equipment.

　　Nevertheless, relying on its own economic and technological strength, Japan has formed a strong independent manufacturing capability in the fields of reconnaissance, early warning, anti-submarine, air defense and other support equipment, and many equipment has even become a necessity for the US military.

According to data, 80% of the microelectronic chips of the US military in the Gulf War were provided by Japan, and the stealth coating of the F-117 bomber was also provided by Japan.

　　With the deepening of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the United States has begun to allow Japan to produce U.S.-style weapons and equipment including main battle aircraft, destroyers, anti-aircraft missiles, and armed helicopters in a licensed manner.

In the 1980s, Japan invested hundreds of billions of yen to develop a new generation of FS-X fighter jets, but was forced to dismount due to strong opposition from the United States.

In 2017, when the next-generation main fighter X-2 Xinshen, which Japan invested heavily in research and development, entered the test flight stage, the United States repeated the old trick, exporting 42 F-35 fighter jets to Japan and allowing 40 to be assembled in Japan.

In the end, the "Xin Shen" fighter project could not escape the fate of dismounting.

　　Due to the limited number of weapons and equipment purchased by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, coupled with the huge technology and patent royalties charged by the United States, the prices of American-style weapons and equipment produced in Japan are extremely expensive.

The price of its domestically assembled F-35A fighter jets is nearly $40 million higher than that imported from the United States, and this does not include expenses such as building assembly plants and workers’ wages.

"Cannibalization Strategy": Constantly Breaking Through the Export Restrictions of Weapons and Equipment

　　Japan's arms and equipment export policy fully serves the strategic needs of the United States.

In 1967, the Sato Cabinet adopted the "Three Principles of Arms Exports": not to sell arms to the communist camp; not to sell arms to countries that have imposed arms embargoes by the United Nations; and not to sell arms to countries that are or may be involved in international disputes.

This is one of the cores of Japan's restrictive defense policy after World War II, and it has also established a so-called "peaceful country" for Japan.

In 1976, the Miki Cabinet added that no weapons were sold to areas other than those targeted by the "Three Principles of Arms Exports". In fact, arms exports were completely banned.

　　However, this principle was soon broken.

Out of the need for Japan and the United States to jointly develop anti-missile missiles, in 1983, the Sone Cabinet issued a statement pointing out that the supply of weapons and technology to the United States is not restricted by the "Three Principles of Arms Exports".

After the end of the Cold War, Japan continued to seek "national normalization", and loosening the export of weapons and equipment became an important content.

In 1996, the Japan-U.S. Agreement on Mutual Provision of Materials and Services allowed Japan to provide weapons parts to the United States.

Japan has also long exported light weapons in the name of shotguns and sporting guns.

　　In recent years, in the process of promoting the "Asia-Pacific rebalancing" strategy and the "Indo-Pacific strategy", the United States needs Japan to act as a more powerful helper, so it has a connivance attitude on issues such as Japan's increase in military spending, export of weapons and equipment, and the lifting of the ban on collective self-defense. .

In June 2006, the Japanese government decided to use government development assistance to provide Indonesia with three armed patrol boats, effectively relaxing arms export restrictions.

　　In April 2014, Japan's Abe Cabinet adopted the "Three Principles of Defense Equipment Transfer", namely: no export or transfer of weapons and equipment to the parties to the dispute or in violation of UN resolutions; Exports are permitted under conditions of safety in Japan; arms exports for other purposes or transfer to third countries are permitted only if proper management can be ensured.

In order to hide from the public, the Abe government changed the name of arms export to equipment transfer, and the so-called "contribution to peace", "Japan's security" and "proper management" can be interpreted arbitrarily.

This revision greatly relaxes Japan's conditions for exporting weapons, equipment and military technology.

　　Since then, the Ministry of Defense of Japan established the Defense Equipment Agency in October 2015, which is in charge of the research and development, procurement, and export of weapons and equipment.

In May 2017, Japan's parliament passed the revised "Self-Defense Forces Law", which allows the transfer of second-hand equipment of the Self-Defense Forces to other countries for free or at a low price.

In recent years, Japan has successively announced the export of submarine technology to Australia, the export of amphibious aircraft to India, and the gift of armed patrol boats, patrol aircraft and trainer aircraft to countries surrounding the South China Sea.

　　After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Japan held a national security meeting on March 8 and agreed to revise the applicable guidelines of the "Three Principles of Defense Equipment Transfer" and decided to provide weapons and equipment to Ukraine, which is at war for the first time.

That night, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces loaded bulletproof vests and other materials on military transport planes and transported them to Ukraine.

This action has paved the way for Japan's next step to openly export weapons and equipment in an all-round way.

'Troublemaker': Hidden ambition to break free from the post-war international system

　　In recent years, Japan has continuously broken through the constraints of the pacifist constitution by lifting the ban on collective self-defense rights, increasing its defense budget, and increasing its overseas deployment of troops, in an attempt to completely get rid of the post-World War II international political system and achieve the goal of becoming an "ordinary country".

Relaxing restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment has also become an important way for Japan to seek the status of a major military and political power and achieve "national normalization".

Relevant actions will definitely have a major impact on the international community, and we need to be highly vigilant.

　　Restricted by the export ban and the number of orders placed by the Self-Defense Forces, Japanese military enterprises have been severely overcapacity for a long time, and have fallen into a vicious circle of "high investment - high price - high investment".

For example, the purchase price of Japanese "90" tanks and F-2 fighter jets is equivalent to 2 to 3 times that of similar equipment in the United States.

Relaxing arms export restrictions will unleash the potential of Japan's military industrial production and greatly reduce the cost of weapons development and procurement.

Some experts predict that if Japan fully liberalizes arms export restrictions, it will be able to enter the top five arms exporting countries within five years and surpass Russia within 10 years.

　　At the same time, Japan can also improve the technical level of weapons and equipment, rebuild a complete military industrial system, and gradually get rid of its dependence on the United States through defense cooperation with the United States and European countries.

At present, Japan has signed the "Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement" with Australia, India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, France and other countries, and its negotiations with Germany, Italy, Sweden and other countries around the agreement have also made great progress.

By then, Italian ship technology, German tank technology and Swedish submarine technology may all be used by Japan.

　　What needs to be vigilant is that in recent years, Japan has donated dozens of patrol boats and patrol aircraft to the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries, and has frequently held joint military exercises with the United States, the Philippines and other countries in the South China Sea.

All these show that Japan is still serving the strategic needs of the United States, arbitrarily provoking regional conflicts and becoming a "troublemaker" for regional security.

　　(Author: Academy of Military Sciences)

　　Kuang Lasheng