The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, have agreed to revise Japan’s strict defense export guidelines to allow sales of a fighter aircraft Tokyo is co-developing with Rome and London — a move that removes a potentially critical hurdle for the multinational Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP).
After months of talks, the ruling bloc agreed Friday to ease the restrictions as long as exports of the next-generation aircraft are limited to countries that have signed defense equipment and technology transfer deals with Japan, while also excluding those directly involved in conflicts.
The Cabinet will relax the stringent restrictions and make export decisions on a case-by-case basis after the discussions within the ruling bloc. Moreover, a reference to each approved export will be made in the country’s defense export guidelines by a group of nine ministers.