Thursday, January 15, 2004
Japan may lift arms export ban for missile defence with US
Press Trust of India
Tokyo, January 14
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday Tokyo may partially lift its ban on arms exports to take part in a joint missile defence programme with the United States.
But Koizumi denied there was any immediate plan to jointly develop weapons with other countries than the United States, despite his defence chief's suggestion that Tokyo may seek partners other than the United States.
Koizumi told reporters that his government would consider lifting its ban on the arms shipments only "in connection with the missile defence" project with the US.
The premier made the remarks after Defence Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba said in the Dutch capital The Hague on Tuesday he should drastically review the ban so that Japan can seek other nations besides US to develop weapons.
Ishiba is currently on a trip to Britain, the Netherlands and France to discuss international efforts to rebuild Iraq with European defence ministers.
Earlier in the day, chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda cautioned against a blanket easing of the arms shipment embargo.
"Japan, which has excellent technologies, may become a big exporter of arms" if the ban is lifted completely, Fukuda told a news conference.
"Our position is that Japan shouldn't sell arms and shouldn't support the proliferation of missiles," he said. "The government has to consider the issue thoroughly."
Tokyo, which decided not to export any weapons at all in 1976, has so far provided "technical" cooperation only with Washington in line with the Japan-US security treaty.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.