Japan’s latest military gamble reflects a changing security landscape

Japan has long been looking at ways to reduce the export controls on its arms exports.

At the same time, it has been working towards increasing its defence budget to 2 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2027, which will potentially make it the third biggest defence spender in the world after the United States and China.

The cabinet’s recent approval could also open the doors for Japan to export military hardware to countries in Southeast Asia or in other parts of the world. Japan has an extremely strong military industrial base which has not been used much since the second world war. But it has not been totally idle either.

Under its plan to sell fighter jets, Japan can export only to those countries with which it has defence agreements and which are not involved in conflicts. This is easier said than done, since there is always a possibility that countries to which Japan sells these advanced fighter jets may get embroiled in conflicts later.

Such weapons exports could also lead to problems on the domestic front as Komeito, a political party within Japan’s ruling coalition, has not been very keen on Japanese arms exports.

Nonetheless, the move is an important step for Japan since it is facing a variety of potential threats in the immediate neighbourhood and beyond. Already Russia and China have been working in tandem on the military front, with joint patrols both in the sea and in the air. In addition, Japan faces threats from North Korea, which has often sent missiles flying over its territory.

With the US now embroiled in conflicts from the Gaza war to the war between Ukraine and Russia, it seems Tokyo now realises that it may have to take care of its own security needs in the near future.

Many things will undoubtedly