Japan Press Weekly

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2015 September 16 - 29 [POLITICS]

Keidanren calls for further military expansion in expectation of war bills’ enactment

The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) on September 15 published a proposal calling for strengthening the domestic military industry in the expectation that the Abe government-sponsored war legislation will be enacted.

The proposal notes that the enactment of the national security-related bills would expand the international role of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. It urges the government to exercise the strong leadership needed to dramatically boost military spending.

The proposal also calls on the Abe administration to promote arms exports as a “national strategy”. It recommends that Japan push forward with joint development and production of weapons with the U.S., Australia, and European nations as well as provide arms and military technology to India and Southeast Asian countries. In addition, the proposed document pushes for offering military training to arms-importing nations, including providing instruction on how to use the weapons imported from Japan.

The recommendation goes on to highlight the need to enhance cooperation between the state and universities in military research and development.

Past related articles:
> Abe’s plan to use public fund to support arms exports unacceptable [May 29, 2015]
> Abe wants to export more arms by establishing an additional defense-related agency [May 19 & 26, 2015]