First of all, it is worth talking about Japan’s army as such. After the defeat in World War II, Japan was forbidden to have its own army to prevent the recurrence of militarism and expansionism. Japan has the Self-Defense Forces. The legal status of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is ambiguous, Japan’s basic law explicitly prohibits the creation of any armed groups. Officially, the Self-Defense Forces are a civilian (non-military) organization.[i] That is why the term “army” is avoided in reference to them. But today, none of the world’s leading countries can do without strong armed forces. Japan is no exception, although the lack of legal grounds severely limits the possibility of using self-defense forces for peacekeeping purposes and somewhat hinders their strengthening.
Turning to the basics of the Japanese army, it is worth noting that Japanese military policy is based on the following principles:
– Nonaggression;
– Non-use of nuclear weapons;
– Public control over the activities of the armed forces;
– Cooperation with the United States (cooperation means participation in joint exercises, deployment of the U.S. military contingent in Japan since 2010, deployment of elements of the U.S. missile defense system in Japan).
The army’s capabilities are limited and the US plays a major role in defense. It should be noted that Japan has no state defense companies, but this does not mean that Japan does not produce weapons. Japan is a state with a fairly developed military-industrial complex and it exists in a rather unique form. In the world practice, armament production is often given to private companies that are not basically military, such as Boeing. However, in Japan, from the limitations described earlier, there can be no state defense companies, so everything is created by private corporations. Now the country’s military industry is a set of high-tech enterprises included in the system of industrial cooperation.
It has a complete branch structure, with the exception of the nuclear industry, and produces armaments and military equipment of all major types: rocket and space, aviation, armored and naval, artillery and rifle armaments, radio-electronic equipment, and various ammunition. There are about 100 enterprises directly related to the military industry in the country. For example, Daikin is based on air conditioners and ventilation systems. However, the company produces artillery shells and it is the main supplier of ammunition for Japan’s self-defense forces.[ii] Representatives of the company have repeatedly admitted that they would like to give up the production of weapons and switch only to civilian goods, but at the same time noted that in today’s world it is not realistic to think about such a thing.
However, the peculiarities of such defense industry are not only in Japanese legislation, but also in traditions. Many large Japanese corporations (Zaibatsu), began by helping the Japanese Empire in militarization, for example, the Mitsubishi company initially created trucks and equipment for the Japanese army, and now this company, in addition to cars, air conditioners and refrigerators, is also the largest manufacturer of weapons in Japan.[iii] The company has enterprises in all branches of the military industry and is a leading Japanese manufacturer of armored vehicles. The nomenclature of the armored industry products includes: tanks, heavy armament combat vehicles, engineering and auxiliary vehicles for various purposes. Its main models are as follows: tanks of types “10” and “90”; IFV type “89”; APC type “73”; 155-mm self-propelled artillery type “99” and type “75”; self-propelled anti-aircraft gun type “87”. At present the company is fulfilling an order of the Ministry of Defense to supply the troops with HACV type “16”, tanks type “10”, as well as 155-mm self-propelled artillery type “99”. Aircraft of different classes produced by this company have been the backbone of Japanese military aviation since World War II.
Its enterprises manufacture, maintain, modernize and repair F-2, F-4EJ, F-15J fighters, LR-1 reconnaissance aircraft, T-400 military transport aircraft, UH-60J, SH-60K and SH-60J multirole helicopters, fuselage modules for the ХР-1 and ХС-2 aircraft. In addition, Komaki Minami Kogyo performs large-scale assembly of the fifth-generation F-35A fighter aircraft, and produces individual components of the wing, fuselage, tailplane and landing gear. The plant is certified as a maintenance and repair center for this type of aircraft. Mitsubishi is also one of the leading manufacturers in the shipbuilding sector of the military industry. Thus, the plant in Kobe specializes in the production of diesel submarines of the Soryu, Harushio and Oyashio types for the national navy. The Nagasaki plant produces Akizuki and Asahi destroyers equipped with the Aegis multifunctional weapon control system, and the Shimonoseki plant produces Hayabusa missile boats.
Kawasaki is known to many as a motorcycle manufacturer. However, few people know that Kawasaki is considered the second largest manufacturer of military products and has facilities in the country’s aviation, shipbuilding, and aerospace military industries.[iv] Its factories currently have facilities for the production of engines and aircraft components. In addition, the company is involved in the program for the production and modernization of US-2 amphibious aircraft, as well as F-2A/B fighters. Kawasaki produces Soryu-type diesel-electric submarines for the country’s navy.
As we continue to look at other companies, it is worth mentioning Subaru. The company produces airplanes and helicopters of various types, including for the military.[v] In February 2019, the firm handed over to the national armed forces for testing a new helicopter developed on the basis of the Subaru-Bell 412ERX multirole helicopter in cooperation with Bell Helicopter under the UH-X program. And a major manufacturer of electrical engineering Toshiba is one of the leading companies in the radio-electronic branch of the military industry.[vi] Its facilities produce radios, radars, as well as complexes and control centers.
It is worth noting that despite all the bans, the defense activities of these companies remain open and, moreover, Japan can adopt new security policies and laws. For example, according to the provisions of Japan’s “National Security Strategy”, first developed in December 2013, it is necessary to develop and improve national military production and military technologies to maintain the state’s defense capability in conditions of limited natural resources. In this way, Japan is trying to increase the independence of its defense capability. And at the moment they have achieved significant success, because Japan can cover up to 70% of its defense capability needs. It should be noted that Japan, in the context of the new strategy, is also investing in the production of long-range ballistic missiles, and is also beginning to use its own satellites for military purposes.
To summarize the section about military industry. Characteristic features of the country’s military industry at the present stage are as follows:
– absence of state-owned military enterprises, production of weapons and military equipment for the Ministry of Defense at private enterprises;
– diversification of production, availability of dual-use and civilian production facilities;
– concentration of production in large production associations that have the necessary base for the production of a wide range of military products;
– developed research and development base;
– broad national military-industrial cooperation, a multi-level system of subcontracting, covering a large number of small and medium-sized businesses involved in the manufacture of civilian products;
– conversion and reservation of civilian capacities for military needs.
Next, it is worth taking a closer look at Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and Japan’s defense strategy. The question may arise why Japan needs such a military production, why a state without expansionist ideas as in the past should strengthen its army, especially if we take into account that Japan has a security treaty with the United States. The understanding of security issues in the world took a new shape after 2022, when a full-scale war started in Ukraine.
Then Japan as well as many other countries realized that such conflicts are possible and saw the incapacity of such international institutions, and more importantly the slowness and indecision of Western countries (specifically, the U.S.). Therefore, it was decided to change the defense strategy and base it on its own forces. Previously, the defense strategy was to rely on the U.S. Army and was often referred to as “Shield and Spear”. The Japan Self-Defense Force was assigned the role of holding the defenses, stopping the attempted landing of enemy troops, and waiting for America to gather forces to enter the war and destroy the enemy. However, the new strategy was based on the idea that Japan itself should be able to strike the enemy without waiting for American help. In 2022, the Japanese government adopted an updated national security strategy, which allows Japan to launch counterstrikes against targets on the territory of a potential enemy. [vii]
In 2023, the Japanese government announced that it was considering possible legislative changes to allow for the prompt destruction of reconnaissance aircraft of a potential enemy in the event of a violation of the country’s airspace. These are very important changes that will allow for the destruction of reconnaissance military vehicles and counterstrikes to inflict as many casualties as possible on a potential enemy without waiting for U.S. authorization to do so. America, understanding the problems of modern warfare and realizing that it cannot protect all of its allies on its own, Americans approved such changes.
It is also worth noting that the fleet and islands are very important for the defense of Japan. Japan’s navy has always been very important because it is an island country. Also important for Japan are small fortified islands, which create a kind of “shield” around the main territory of Japan. Japan has recently increased the conversion of existing islands and the creation of artificial ones. On these islands they make fortified areas, set up reconnaissance facilities, ship maintenance points and airfields, and exercises are held on some of these islands. Thus, it can be noted that Japan’s new strategy is to keep the enemy away from the main territory of the state, inflict as much damage as possible, and independently launch counterattacks on enemy territory. This fundamentally changes the approach to defense that has been maintained for decades.
Summarizing the results of this research, it can be noted that Japan has its own modern system of the military-industrial complex, which is expanding every year and can cover more and more of Japan’s needs. Also important changes are the approach to defense, which is created under the influence of external factors and this new strategy allows Japan to act more autonomously and effectively. There is still a question about whether Japan will one day export lethal weapons, because this has not happened in modern history. However, taking into account the recent discussion about the transfer of ammunition for Patriot air defense to the United States, which will then be transferred from the United States to Ukraine, it can be assumed that Japan will be able to supply weapons and ammunition for political purposes if, for example, their ally the United States demands it. At the same time, it is hardly possible to talk about exporting weapons for financial gain in the near future. However, to summarize, it can be accurately noted that Japan is rapidly changing its defense strategy towards autonomy and efficiency, and their military-industrial complex has great prospects. Therefore, it can be noted that these trends will only intensify and Japan will play an increasingly important role in the field of security in the Asia-Pacific region.
[i] «Constitution and the Basis of Defense Policy», Ministry of Defence, https://www.mod.go.jp/en/publ/w_paper/wp2020/pdf/R02020102.pdf, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[ii] «Top Japanese Gun Makers & Their Iconic Weapons», Jacob Lynagh, https://daitool.com/blogs/news/top-japanese-gun-makers-their-iconic-weapons, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[iii] «Defence products», Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, https://www.mhi.com/products/defense. (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[iv] «Defence&Security», Kawasaki, https://global.kawasaki.com/en/industrial_equipment/defences_securities/index.html, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[v] «Subaru Aerospace», Subaru, https://aerospace.subaru.co.jp/412epx/en/history.html, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[vi] «Defence&Electronic System», Toshiba, https://www.global.toshiba/ww/outline/infrastructure/business-introduction/defense/solution-product.html, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
[vii] National Security Strategy of Japan, https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/siryou/221216anzenhoshou/nss-e.pdf, (Erişim Tarihi: 29.12.2023).
