Japan will host its first international defense trade show next month, underscoring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to loosen the shackles of its postwar pacifist Constitution amid territorial tensions with an increasingly assertive China.
The MAST Asia exhibition and conference in the port city of Yokohama scheduled for May 13-15 will coincide with the government's plan to submit bills to the Diet to bolster the nation's security stance. Companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., the country's two largest defense contractors, will have exhibits at the event.
Last year, Abe lifted a ban on defense exports and reinterpreted the 68-year-old Constitution to allow Japan to defend other countries. This more robust security policy has divided the electorate and sparked expressions of concern from China and South Korea ahead of August's 70th anniversary of World War II's end.