Commentary by Chinese Media: Japan's Military Industry's Foreign Expansion Hides Malicious Intent

Reference News Network, March 27 report North Korea's "Labor News" published an article on March 21, titled "Commentary by KCNA: The Expanding Japanese Military-Industrial Complex's Foreign Expansion." The translation is as follows:

The Japanese militaristic entity, completely shedding its "defensive posture," has brazenly appeared before the world. It is reported that recently, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister, demanding the principle-based lifting of all domestic arms export bans, including lethal weapons.

A closer look at the content reveals that Japan should abolish the previous five principles that restricted arms exports to "disaster relief, transportation, surveillance, monitoring, and mine clearance." Once the proposal is formally approved by the Prime Minister, Japan will discuss revising its arms export system this spring. In that case, Japan is very likely to export lethal weapons such as fighter jets, destroyers, and submarines to countries that have signed the "Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement."

Currently, Japan has signed the "Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement" with 17 countries, including some in the Asia-Pacific region. It is important to note that even non-lethal equipment, which Japan previously adhered to the principle of not transferring to conflict parties, is now being planned to circumvent these restrictions. This means Japan could legally export or support lethal weapons to "partner countries" involved in armed conflicts.

It seems that militaristic Japan has become exceedingly bold. Japan is planning to openly export offensive lethal weapons to countries that have signed the "Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement" without any restrictions, which harbors extremely dangerous ulterior motives.

At present, Japan is significantly increasing its military spending year by year and is crazily enthusiastic about developing and equipping various offensive weapons. Consequently, the Japanese military-industrial sector, which was previously limited to supplying the "Self-Defense Forces" with military equipment, is increasingly expanding and is preparing to explore new markets, aiming to expand into hotspots around the world to meet its demands. Meanwhile, Japan is attempting to comprehensively verify and confirm the advantages and disadvantages of its weaponry in terms of combat application capabilities and lethality across the globe, rapidly updating and upgrading its weapon systems to quickly enhance the island nation's preemptive strike capabilities.

Japan's large-scale export activities of offensive lethal weapons pose a serious challenge to world peace and security. This move will inevitably lead neighboring countries to engage in an intense arms race, exacerbate geopolitical crises, and result in an increasingly unstable global situation.

In the short term, Japan aims to quickly transform its economy into one dominated by a massive military-industrial complex, thereby accelerating its militarization while creating an imbalance of power in the region and the world, fostering a favorable environment for renewed aggression—this is Japan's insidious objective.

Japan must understand that a war criminal nation seeking to exploit new arms export channels to pave the way for renewed aggression is on a path leading to irreversible destruction.