Japan eyes joint missile production with US

Japan eyes joint missile production with US: report

24/11/2003 at 04:02:50

Date line: TOKYO
Japan plans to jointly produce next-generation missiles with the United States in a bid to upgrade the country’s competitiveness in defense-industry technology, a daily said Monday.

Tokyo and Washington have been studying the development of a ship-to-air missile capable of downing incoming ballistic missiles since 1999 and Japan’s Defense Agency wants to make an advanced ship-to-air missile with the United States, the Asahi Shimbun said.

The agency is also seeking 134.1 billion yen (1.2 billion dollars) in the next fiscal year starting in April to buy a US missile system that would deploy an Aegis destroyer-based anti-missile Standard Missile 3 (SM3), the daily said.

With the United States, Japan hopes to produce a ship-to-air missile more advanced than the SM3, it said.

But the Asahi said the joint missile project could require a review of Japan’s ban on exports of weapons.

In 1976, the government banned arms exports to all nations, but made an exception in 1983, following a request from Washington, to allow only “technology” exports to the United States.

If Japan and the United States launched joint missile production, Japanese manufacturers would very likely export their weapons products to the United States, an illegal move under the current policy, the daily said.

On Friday, former defense agency director-general Fumio Kyuma said Japan should review the export ban.

“At a minimum, I think we should allow the export of parts for weapons systems to our alliance partner, the United States,” Kyuma was quoted by the Asahi as saying.