South Korea called Tuesday on Japan to have "the maximum level of transparency" in implementing newly adopted principles and guidelines on arms exports, a sentiment echoed later in the day by China.
"As a pacifist nation, Japan is expected to adhere to basic principles and implement them into a direction of contributing peace and stability in the international community in a careful manner," South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai Young said during a news briefing.
Cho made the statement in response to Japan's adoption of new principles and guidelines on arms exports earlier Tuesday, the first major overhaul in nearly half a century of its arms embargo policy, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set the stage for his country to play a more active role in global security.