Japan approved 1,841 defense equipment exports for fiscal 2014 under new principles and guidelines on arms exports, according to sources citing a draft report on the matter.
The draft report on the approvals, based on eased restrictions on arms exports adopted in April last year, is expected to be presented soon to Japan's National Security Council and unveiled afterward, the sources said.
Under the newly adopted three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology, Japan will allow arms exports if they contribute to international cooperation and the nation's security interests.
While the draft contains information on where the equipment was exported and under which category, it does not specify the type of equipment, raising questions about transparency, the sources said Wednesday.
They said the draft, which was drawn up by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, classifies the exports into three categories: transfers that promote peace and international cooperation; cases that contribute to Japan's security and exports whose impact on national security is judged to be small, such as the re-export of equipment brought into Japan by foreign police officers.
Of the 1,841 exports, 1,731 pertained to contributions to Japan's security and involved 16 countries, including the United States, Britain, Israel, Sweden and China.
Cases that promote peace and international cooperation totaled 49, including those linked to U.N. peacekeeping activities in South Sudan and work to dispose of chemical weapons Japan abandoned in China.
The remaining 61 exports were in the third category.
Of the total, only the joint research of Japan and Britain on missile technology is classified as an important case that requires approval from the council, an entity set up to expedite policy decisions on defense and diplomacy.