Recent remarks by Japanese defense officials raise cause for concern. In a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Hanoi on Oct. 11, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said that his ministry thinks that Japan's long-standing ban on weapons exports should be revised. He also expressed hope that such a change would be considered when the defense program outline is revised later this year. Mr. Kitazawa apparently believes that the arms-export ban should be revised because Japan cannot take part in joint development of equipment for the next-generation jet fighter and because Japan's defense industry is growing weak.
On Oct. 14, Prime Minister Naoto Kan told the Upper House Budget Committee that he has no intention of altering the ban. But just two days earlier, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku broached the possibility of a revision. He said that there would be discussions on whether to revise the current policy to make it more appropriate for the 21st century.
These remarks demonstrate that the Kan administration lacks consensus on the weapons-exports ban. This principle was first formed by the Sato Cabinet in 1967, and was strengthened in 1976 by the Miki Cabinet, which unconditionally banned weapons exports.