Japan has only just begun exporting arms, but already it is thinking big.
Toru Hotchi, a Ministry of Defense official with responsibility for overseas weapons sales, suggested in an interview that Britain, which is looking for a new maritime patrol aircraft, ought to consider the new P-1, made in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.7012.TO -0.25% He also said Japan was aiming for a bigger slice of the U.S.-led F-35 fighter-jet program, in which Japan is already participating.
The P-1 was developed for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, and costs around $200 million per plane. Until recently, exports of the P-1, like other Japan-made military gear, were barred under a policy phased in by officially pacifist Japan after World War II, beginning in 1967. But the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe backed an easing of the restrictions in March, and the government approved its first exports under the new policy last week.
Analysts have generally assumed that Japan would start slowly, focusing on selling parts and materials rather than complete weapons systems, in order to avoid alarming neighbors and citizens worried about a revival of militarism. So it would be a big step to sell overseas a finished product like the P-1, which is intended for purposes like hunting down and sinking submarines.
Defense-industry publications have reported that Britain’s Royal Air Force is interested in a new maritime patrol aircraft after abandoning its own plane, the Nimrod, four years ago. Among those discussed as replacements are Boeing Co.'sBA -0.11% P-8 and Airbus Defence and Space’s C295.
Japan recently signed a military cooperation deal with Britain, and Mr. Abe’s government last week approved a joint research agreement between the two countries, involving air-to-air missiles. It followed a similar pact with Australia on submarine technology.
Britain could build on the agreement with Japan by considering the P-1 for its sea patrol needs, Mr. Hotchi said. Like many made-in-Japan weapons systems, the plane costs more, he acknowledged. The U.S. Navy recently ordered 16 P-8s at a price of about $150 million each. And operating costs of the P-1, which has four jet engines, are higher than those of the P-8, a modified Boeing 737 jetliner with two engines.
But Mr. Hotchi maintained that the P-1 performs better at low speeds and low altitudes–important features in a patrol aircraft.
Might Japan, in pursuing arms exports in competition with American companies like Boeing, annoy its principal ally, the U.S.?
“Both the U.K. and Australia are countries that are in a very similar security environment to Japan, and we think it is important, while centering on the Japan-U.S. alliance, to promote cooperation with such countries,” Mr. Hotchi said.
Japan, along with Britain and Australia, has already been working as a partner in the F-35 fighter project. A Japanese company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.7011.TO -0.44%, which made the World War II-era Zero fighter, is set to do the final assembly of 42 F-35s for the Self-Defense Forces.
Under the new export authorization, Japan is broadening its ambitions for the F-35. Mr. Hotchi said the ministry hoped to secure Japanese “industrial participation” in the project, which is led by Lockheed Martin Corp. If a deal is reached, Japanese companies could supply parts or services for F-35s destined for other countries, he said.
Japan is part of an international group that participated in developing Lockheed Martin Corp.'sLMT -0.02% F-35, seen here at a Texas unveiling in July 2012.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Corrections and Amplifications
Both planes shown in the top photo are P-1 aircraft. An earlier version of the caption incorrectly identified the rear aircraft as a P-3C model.
Japan’s Defense Ministry Broadens Arms-Export Ambitions - Japan Real Time - WSJ
