TOKYO, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling coalition, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party, on Friday agreed to permit the export of the next-generation fighter jet jointly developed by Japan with Britain and Italy, to third countries, marking a further relaxation of Japan's arms export control and another step contrary to the country's pacifist constitution.
According to the agreement between the two parties, Japan will only be allowed to directly export weapons to third countries that are currently involved in the joint development of the new fighter jet. Moreover, the recipient country must have signed defense equipment export-related agreements with Japan and must not be engaged in any ongoing conflict.
Additionally, individual export cases will be subject to cabinet approval. As per the agreements, there are currently 15 identified target countries eligible for export, including the United States, Germany, India, and the Philippines, besides the joint development partners.
To enable the fighter jet shipments, the Japanese government plans to revise the implementation guidelines of the "three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" policy on March 26, with a possible cabinet vote later this month, local media reports showed.
Last December, the Japanese government significantly amended the three principles and the implementation guidelines, allowing Japan to export finished weapons it produces and assembles to countries authorized by Japan for production.
The amendment also permits the export of crucial components such as engines or wings of fighter jets to countries with security cooperation agreements with Japan, but finished fighter jets at that time could not be directly exported to third countries.
Local media reports suggest that Friday's agreement by the ruling coalition represented another shift in Japan's post-war security policy by opening the door for the nation to directly export finished combat weapons to third countries.
Naotaka Fujita, a senior staff writer with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, noted that the Constitution of Japan explicitly states that "never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government," which not only requires the Japanese government to control armaments but also to control weapons exports.
The current actions of the incumbent government and ruling coalition are rendering the constitution meaningless, inevitably fueling disputes and raising concerns within the international community, Fujita said. ■
