Japan set to ease arms export ban

I bet that some people at Airbus Military are getting very nervous with this announcement paving the way for Kawasaki to export their C-2 heavy lifter transport which is a direct competitor in terms of size and lifting capacity as their A400M.

In this new era of globalization, nobody can afford to take a 'moral' stand in the face of economic reality. Best of luck to the ambitions of our Japanese allies.

All this will do is make certain that population centers where these facilities are located remain primary strike targets for NK gas and germ weapons and Chinese cyberattacks. Peace on Earth and good will towards men? Yeah right.

@ shinhiyata

It really does not matter whether Japan exports arms or not, NK will still aim the facilities as primary targets and PRC will continue their cyber-attacks to try to gain military knowledge.

There is no inherent moral overstep in this decision. Whether it goes well is all in how it is handled. Using high screening standards for buyers instead of merely selling to the highest bidder will go a long way towards keeping this practice within acceptable ethical bounds for Japan. But once sold, the moral responsibility will be solely in the hands of those who have obtained it.

I am sure this will be approached with due caution by Japan so that it goes well at the moral level in addition to the self-defense and economic levels. Japan has not gone through all the trouble of developing and maintaining a good name just to loose it for an economic boost. I think they understand the importance of intangibles such as peace, integrity and honor which do not come cheap to say the least.

Im sure japan will be able to sell a lot of weapons and bring in revenue

Solace - your rationale is somewhat flawed. Weapons and weapon system related technologies are designed for one purpose - to end human life. You can label it defense but the moral overstep is made at the time of production. If I make some heroin, am I morally absolved by the pusher or user who chose to purchase it? Such a pacifist stance is about as moral and peaceful as a banana clip.

shinhiyata

If I make some heroin, am I morally absolved by the pusher or user who chose to purchase it? Such a pacifist stance is about as moral and peaceful as a banana clip.

Your analogy is completely off base since most drugs when administered wrongly becomes poison and many poison when administered correctly becomes a medicine.

The key is, as Solace points out, is how it is administered but I guess you will not accept it no matter what.

BlueSamurai - You are correct. As a Buddhist and a pacifist, I do not accept the manufacture or sale of weapons in any sense. Japan has decades of atonement to complete before they have absolved themselves of their recent military atrocities. "They should beat their samurai swords into plowshares" was my gist. And my analogy was perfect. Heroin is not a medicine - it is a killer. And the only way to correctly administer a weapon is to point it at someone and pull the trigger and kill. If you make or sell something that has only one purpose, to add to the already immeasurable amount of human suffering in this world, then you are a moral failure.

Auhh, even Buddhist monks in the Sengoki eras picked up a Naginata when they faced peril so your defense really does not work either.

Uhhh, what some "monks" did centuries ago has no bearing on my philosophy in the here and now. That was their moral failure then, not mine today. Wielding a weapon in conflict was their mistake as it is Japan's mistake to participate in the present day global warfare machine. If those "monks" had achieved any sort of wisdom, they would not have been in a situation where conflict was necessary. Japan would do well not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Conflict and militarization have brought Japan only indescribable horror and misery. The industry of today's disaster weapons can only bring ruin and catastrophe to this world.

@Shinhiyata: Analogy aside, I see your stand point and really appreciate your view. If only everyone thought like that. I am by far more on your side of the spectrum than on the side of any military business, especially when considering Japan who I admire so much for their strong, on-going pacifism. Yet, what I meant was to acknowledge the reality of having to defend one's self in an imperfect world, the legal validity of the weapons export option by Japan and the need for caution in any such venture in order to curb any moral oversteps. If the venture actually gets approved, I hope that it will occur in only its most limited sense, being kept between Japan and the US for better cooperation on projects in order to better maintain a modern SDF in Japan while also lowering costs of its development.

As for the analogy, drugs like heroin have no valid demographic for which to justify their production. Military technology, however, is justified by the existence of people who do bad things and, in its best sense then, exists as an extension of the justice system for self defense. You do not have to like it to admit it. I am on your side for the most part and am very happy to have guys like you living in Japan and speaking up.

The Japanese could reallocate some of the 5 billion dollars they pay the U.S. every year their own military, ultimately saving the U.S. money in the long term.

History always repeats itself.

This is a welcome decision. I hope that Japan can cooperate fully on defence related issues with its allies.

shinhiyata, you are entitled to your views, but pointing your finger at Japan is unfair given that it has no choice but to produce and maintain armed forces given it has hostile neighbours and more generally the threat of conflict is always there. If Japan disarmed tomorrow it would just make its situation in Asia more vulnerable and do nothing to achieve global disarmament.

It's very easy to be a pacifist as you can maintain the moral high ground whilst others guarantee your security. I mean that. You may say that war begats war, but if one has no weapons then when the other party wants to declare war you have to do what they say. Just because you think passive resistance is the only way forward doesn't mean you're right. Humans have violent tendancies and there will always be those who try to use violence to get what they want.

I wonder, what's your view on the police force? Do you think they shouldn't be issued with guns, truncheons or have the right to use force on people who break the law? Should they simply shout from the sidelines and say "I say, you over there with the shotgun! Stop raiding that bank, it's against the law! Now don't make me walk over there and wave my finger at you!" Surely when the police use force it just encourages criminals to use force.

Shumatsu, your views are whack. Firstly, this is not a defense related issue. It's about Japan developing and selling weapons outside of Japan. 'Arms export' - which is against Japan's pacifist constitution. And Japan has no offensive armed forces. They have a so-called defense force/coast guard which is tantamount to an anti-China/Korea/Russia fishing police. They can't even protect their whaling boats from the Sea Shepherd. "If Japan disarmed tomorrow, that would do nothing to achieve global disarmament." What? Japan is essentially protected by the Ohio-class SSBNs out of Bangor patrolling off of Hokkaido. If Japan melted down its last ginsu, those subs will still be floating by Akita till doomsday. Secondly, it is very difficult (and dangerous) to be a pacifist. Just ask the Dalai Lama, or MLK, or J. Lennon, or Gandhi. And although I'm an American, nobody is guaranteeing me security from my redneck hillbilly neighbor with a collection of assault rifles and an '81 Plymouth lawn ornament. Yet I do NOT have to do what he wants. Just as Japan does not have to do what China, Russia, or NK dictate. And just as Japan does NOT have to participate in producing and selling high tech weapon systems that will only be used in conflicts and killing elsewhere in the world. Japan should divert that effort and expense into finding energy independence tech or tsunami detection tech or something productive - anything but death. I do not say that war begets war. I say that boundless human ignorance and stupidity beget war. Those who use violence against others to get what they want are not human. I AM right, pacifism is the only way forward. The military-industrial complex and it ultraviolence are the economics of extinction. Peace and love are the only way forward, for Japan and for all of us. Lastly, your final paragraph concerning my views on police force is not legerdemain to the article or this debate and I'm surprised the moderators didn't flag that for being off topic. Save it for an article in the crime section.