Japan eases self-imposed arms export ban

TOKYO, Dec 27 (AFP): Tokyo on Tuesday eased a decades-old self-imposed ban on arms exports, paving the way for Japanese firms to participate in multinational weapons projects. In a move intended to bolster the domestic arms industry and reduce national defence spending, officially pacifist Japan will for the first time in decades routinely allow its companies to partner with foreign firms to develop weapons. "Under the new standards, Japan will be able to transport military equipment for missions of peace-building and international cooperation," Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters. "This will mean that Japan can now address international peace cooperation and global challenges such as terrorism and piracy more proactively and effectively." Japan, whose industries took many years to recover from the devastation of World War II, declared in 1967 that it would very tightly control its foreign weapons sales. At the height of the Cold War, then prime minister Eisaku Sato said Tokyo would not sell armaments to communist states, countries directly engaged in international conflicts, or nations under UN arms embargoes. The restrictions were further tightened in 1976 when Japan said all exports would be subject to stringent rules that effectively barred all weapon sales. A limited number of exceptions were subsequently made for technological cooperation projects such on as missile defence with the United States, Japan's cornerstone security ally.