Three principles of arms export

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The Three Principles of Arms Export ( Japanese 武器 輸出 三 原則 Buki yushutsu sangensoku , English Three principles on arms export ) are principles that the Japanese government has issued to regulate arms exports .

development

Satō Eisaku's proposal

According to a decision of the Japanese House of Commons under Prime Minister Satō Eisaku , which came into force on April 21, 1967, the export of weapons to the following countries and regions is not permitted:

  1. to all communist countries
  2. all countries to which the export of arms is prohibited by UN resolutions
  3. to countries that are in an international conflict or in which one is to be feared.

The three principles arose in response to concerns of the Socialist Party of Japan (SPJ) about Japan's support for the US during the Vietnam War .

Additions by Miki Takeo

On February 27, 1976, the Budget Committee of the Japanese House of Commons under Prime Minister Miki Takeo added the following resolutions to the three principles of Sato:

  1. The three principles also apply to the export of arms to all other countries that are not originally named in the three principles
  2. The export of arms to all other countries must be in accordance with the Japanese Constitution and the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law and must be carefully considered
  3. the export of equipment and facilities related to the manufacture of weapons is treated like the export of weapons.

In addition, the definition of the term weapon in the three principles was determined as follows:

  • Items that are used by troops and that are used in an immediate combat situation
  • consequently also objects such as escort ships, warplanes and tanks , which are used for loading firearms, for direct physical injury and killing of people, as a means of armed conflict or destruction.

Additions by Gotōda Masaharu

On January 14, 1983, the interpretation of the principles was supplemented by the directives Gotōda Masaharus , Secretary General of the Nakasone Cabinet as follows:

November 8, 1983: From the correspondence concerning the supply of arms and technology to America under the Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Defense between Japan and the United States of America ( 日本国 と ア メ リ カ 合衆国 と の 間 の 相互 援助 協定 協定 に 基 づ く ア メ リ カ 合衆国に 対 す る 武器 技術 の 供 与 に 関 す る 交換 公文 ) resulted in the resolution of a mutual defense assistance agreement for the supply of the US armed forces with weapons and technology.

Supply of the US armed forces

  • In November 1984 the governments of the USA and Japan founded the JMTC, a committee for military cooperation, as an advisory body.

General overview

The three principles of arms export prohibit the export of arms to socialist countries, to countries that are subject to a UN embargo and to current and potential conflict regions. The export of arms to all other regions should be cautious, which does not mean that exports are prohibited. Nevertheless, the Japanese government, under the prime ministers of three successive cabinets, insists on the principle of not exporting weapons and technology for the manufacture of weapons, as well as goods that can be misused as weapons.

However, the rise of electronic technologies intended to serve the general public and their wide range of applications facilitates military use. The demarcation between such electronic technologies and military equipment is unclear. In addition, the example of the Toyota War in the border war between Libya and Chad shows that vehicles exported to developing countries, such as pickups from supply units, are used to transport military goods or that vehicles of the military and civilians are converted into so-called technicals for military use .

In addition, the fact that Japanese military technology may not be used according to the three principles of arms exports and the fact that America itself became a country involved in an international conflict through the Gulf and Iraq wars has led to conflict ever since by the decrees supplemented by Gotōda Masaharu for the supply of the US armed forces there is the possibility that Japanese technology is used for military purposes.

Exceptions

Aside from technical cooperation with America, there have been a small number of exceptions to date in which arms exports have been approved by the Japanese government:

  • In June 2006, the Japanese cabinet decided on a request from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and in 2007 approved the free delivery of small patrol boats to the Indonesian police as part of official development cooperation as a measure against piracy in the Strait of Malacca . Three ships with a length of 27 meters and a speed of 30 knots were delivered, which can be classified as weapons due to their equipment with bulletproof glass etc. However, the boats were not equipped with machine guns or the like. The ships were built by Sumida-gawa Sōsen, which also manufactures ships of the same class for the Japanese coast guard . The ships were christened KP.HAYABUSA , KP.ANIS MADU and KP.TAK and handed over to Indonesia.
  • In 2010, Yemen's request for the delivery of patrol boats was considered as part of anti- piracy measures off the Somali coast .

Others

Equipment of the Self-Defense Forces

As for the equipment of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces , due to the export control of arms, the production and sales abroad cannot be expanded. There is a direct relationship between poor equipment reliability and low production numbers. For this reason, a vicious circle results on the one hand from the necessity to maintain the arms industry through politics and on the other hand to improve the equipment. Japanese weapons are virtually never tested under real combat conditions.

As production fell, equipment became increasingly expensive, while the defense budget shrank and procurement funds were cut several times. Countries such as the USA have in recent years - since their armaments budgets have been cut - pursued the strategy of focusing on international projects and joint development work. Japanese companies are prohibited from participating in such projects due to the three principles .

Legal situation

Even if the three principles of arms exports can be used as a principle and the export of arms is forbidden, there are no specific provisions on this in Japanese law. The export is regulated by the Japanese Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law ( 外国 為 替 及 び 外国 貿易法 ) and the Japanese export regulations. A list of the goods approved for export can be found in Table 1 of the Appendix to the Japanese Export Regulations. In this table ( Export Trade Control Order ), which decides for which export goods an export license from the Ministry of Economic Affairs is required, the subject areas weapons and also electronics, communications technology, raw materials, manufacturing technologies and dual-use core technologies are widely ramified.

This attached list of goods is related to controls such as the CoCom and the Wassenaar Agreement and will be updated in due course. The penalties for the illegal export of weapons are regulated by the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. A violation is punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years or a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine. In the 1987 scandal, in which Toshiba Kikai ( 東芝 機械 English Toshiba Machine ) violated the CoCom regulations and made a deal worth over 40 billion yen, the court ruled on the payment of a fine of 2 million yen and Prison sentences for company employees who have been suspended. Following this scandal and the mild verdict, penalties for the unauthorized export of weapons, weapons of mass destruction and nuclear power plants were increased.

Small arms

Although Japan does not export military goods, it does export a large number of weapons. The report Overview of Small Arms by the renowned Geneva Institute the hautes études internationales et de développments from 2004 shows that Japan exports small arms for non-military use, such as hunting rifles, ammunition, etc. to the USA, Belgium and France. Japan ranks ninth worldwide as a supplier of non-military weapons.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Japan's Way - Committed to Peace for 60 Years. (No longer available online.) In: Japan-Lexikon. Embassy of Japan, August 2005, archived from the original on March 27, 2011 ; Retrieved May 21, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.de.emb-japan.go.jp
  2. ↑ Japan's Policies on the Control of Arms Exports. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan , accessed May 21, 2011 .
  3. ^ A b c Yukari Kubota: Japan's New Strategy as an Arms Exporter. Revising the Three Principles on Arms Exports. (PDF) (No longer available online.) 2008, formerly in the original ; accessed on September 21, 2014 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rips.or.jp  
  4. ↑ 日本国 と ア メ リ カ 合衆国 と の 間 の 相互 防衛 援助 協定 に 基 づ く ア メ リ カ 合衆国 に 対 す す る 武器 及 び び 武器 技術 の 供 与 に 関 す る 書簡 の 交換 に つ い て . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, June 23, 2006, accessed May 21, 2011 (Japanese).
  5. ↑ d. i. Joint Military Technology Commission
  6. ^ Hanns W. Maull: The foreign policy of Japan . In: Manfred Knapp, Gert Krell (ed.): Introduction to international politics . 4th edition. Oldenbourg, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-486-25968-7 , p. 295 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  7. ↑ Singapore - Economy. (No longer available online.) In: GlobalDefence.net. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010 ; Accessed May 21, 2011 (A significant proportion of oil shipments to Japan are via the Malacca Strait). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.globaldefence.net
  8. ↑ イ ン ド ネ シ ア に お け る 「海賊 、 海上 テ ロ 及 び 兵器 拡 散 の 防止 の た め の の 巡視 船艇 建造 計画」 に 対 す る 無償 資金 協力 に つ い て . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2006, accessed May 20, 2011 (Japanese).
  9. ↑ Arms and Arms Production-related Equipment Listed as Item 1 of the Annexed List 1 of the Export Trade Control Order. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, accessed May 21, 2011 .
  10. ^ Roderick Seeman: 4/87 Toshiba Case - Cocom - Foreign Exchange & Foreign Trade Control Revision. (No longer available online.) In: The Japan Lawletter. April 1987, archived from the original on July 21, 2011 ; accessed on May 21, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.japanlaw.info
  11. ↑ website