Japan’s newfound interest in arms trading is a sign of the times.
Driving the news: This month, Japan secured a sale of 11 warships to Australia. The deal has been touted as a “model” for future sales, a Defense Ministry official told The Japan Times, as the country defies decades of pacifist ideology to expand its defence industry.
Catch-up: Following WWII, pacifism was enshrined in Japan’s constitution with Article 9, which renounces force as a means for settling disputes. In 1976, the government went further by adopting a 1% of GDP cap on defence spending and instituting, essentially, a blanket ban on arms exports.
- In recent years, this commitment to pacifism has faded. The export ban was modified twice (in 2014 and 2023), the domestic defence industry launched a trade show in 2019, and the defence spending target was set at 2% of GDP for the first time in 2022.
Why it matters: Japan’s actions raise the question of if enshrined pacifism is possible in the current geopolitical climate — especially for a nation flanked by two nuclear neighbours, China and North Korea, that suddenly finds itself without protection assurances from the U.S.
What’s next: Increasing arms sales will likely require further revisions to the export ban. Ultimately, a shifting political tide could lead to an upheaval of the ban and other pacifist measures. Sanseito, a far-right nationalist party that did shockingly well in last month’s parliamentary elections, has promised to revoke Article 9 if it achieves power.—QH