Japan's case of flawed priority

Tokyo's decision to ease arms exports ban is fraught with danger, for it could start a new arms race in Asia and worsen Mideast security

Japan's decision to effectively lift the long-standing ban on export of arms is shortsighted, if not dangerous. Worse, it could backfire on domestic, regional and international fronts in the long run.

On Tuesday, Osamu Fujimura, chief secretary of Japan's Cabinet, announced that Tokyo was easing its decades-old ban on arms exports to pave the way for joint development and production of advanced weapons with other countries.

It is widely perceived that huge defense costs prompted Tokyo to relax the rules, which it had been mulling for years. Such concerns may be seemingly relevant given the financial pinch Japan is feeling in reviving the national economy after the triple disaster of the earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The triple disaster dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese economy, which had already been suffering from slow growth since the country's asset-price bubble burst in the early 1990s.

But compared to the economic benefits that arms exports could bring, the social and political repercussions of lifting the ban would be much greater and might even lead Japan onto a dangerous path. For example, the decision has already sown the seeds of social division. While some right-wing media and groups have lauded it as epoch-making, others have denounced it as being detrimental to Japan's image as a pacifist power and even violating its pacific constitution.

Indeed, a country that has followed a war-renouncing doctrine for decades could unleash its arms manufacturing capability when it departs from its pacifist path. Japan's decision to ease the ban on arms exports cannot be interpreted as a move to uphold its pacifist constitution, for it is an open declaration to boost its military might. Fujimura's statement on Tuesday makes that obvious.

Although Fujimura gave an assurance that Japan would adhere to its pacifist principles, his other statement revealed Japan's real intentions. "We should acquire the most advanced defense technology to upgrade the capability of Japanese defense industry," he said.

In fact, Japan has been strengthening its military might since the Cold War days and especially after the first Gulf War under various pretexts, including the need to defend against non-existent enemies and bolster its global presence. That it has been nurturing expansionist ambitions, covertly and overtly, is evident in its Self Defense Force, for it is as good as any sophisticated army, endowed with advanced weapons and equipment and capable of conducting missions overseas whenever necessary.

Japan has sent troops beyond its border since the first Gulf War, and participated in international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. It has taken steps to fight piracy and joined the United States in the "war on terror". It has set up a military base in Africa too, without bothering to clarify its intentions. So it's no surprise that the US has welcomed Japan's decision to relax the arms exports ban.

As a result of these developments, Japanese society is turning increasingly to the right, and right-wing politicians have made sizable gains in Japanese politics. No wonder, some Japanese are worried that their country would discard its pacifist constitution sooner or later.

The latest move to relax the ban on arms exports will fan military sentiments in Japanese society by giving the country access to cutting-edge military technology. Japan's defense industry is the most advanced in Asia, capable of manufacturing destroyers with Aegis Combat System, advanced fighters, military satellites and submarines.

A country that is widely believed to have lost its identity in recent years will not help cultivate a normal national psyche by trying to expand its military clout. The gains Japan makes from arms sale will be more than offset by the damaging implication it will have.

The decision is not good for Japan's Asian neighbors either, because they were already feeling alarmed by its persistent military expansion. There is no guarantee that a country that has never owned up to its past military aggressions would honor its pacifist image and not turn its military machine against another country.

Japan's unrepentant attitude toward its militaristic past has been a constant hurdle for it to have normal and smooth relations with its Asian neighbors. Its ambition to strengthen its military only adds to the suspicion of its neighbors and intensifies the distrust between them.

On the global front, there is already speculation about India's eagerness to buy arms from Japan. And India has been the leading arms procurer in the world over the past five years. Besides, some Japanese media outlets are worried that some of the weapons Japan makes could be sold to Israel, creating tension between Japan and the Arab world.

If any of these fears come true, the least it will do is to trigger a new arms race in Asia and make the security outlook in the Middle East bleaker.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

(China Daily 12/31/2011 page5)