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Transcript/ScriptJAPAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY RELUCTANCE (TV)
HEADLINE: Japan Boosts Defense Spending, but Its Tech Giants Are Wary
TEASER: Tokyo to invest $315 billion in defense by 2027, but its industrial giants reluctant to develop weapons production
PUBLISHED: 8/10/2023 at 10:35a
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Tokyo
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Tom Turco, SV
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AFP, APTN, Reuters, Zoom
PLATFORMS WEB ___ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:44
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is a companion Web piece. ))
((INTRO)) [[Japan is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in its defense program over the next four years in response to China’s growing militarization in the East China Sea. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from Toyko, the government is struggling to persuade some of Japan’s best known technological and industrial giants to produce more weapons, along with all of the consumer products they manufacture.]]
((NARRATOR))
They are among Japan’s most famous global brands – more familiar as the makers of televisions, washing machines or cars. Less well known – even in Japan – is that they also make military equipment.
Mitsubishi makes fighter jets and missiles for Japan’s self-defense force. Electronics firm Toshiba makes military-grade batteries. Subaru – military helicopters. Daikin – better known for its air conditioning units – has a side business producing munitions.
Now, the government wants Japan’s industrial giants to ramp up production of military equipment.
Tokyo is boosting defense spending by $315 billion over the next four years. It’s a response to China’s militarization and aggression in the East China Sea.
But Japan’s effort to boost its national defense industry is struggling, according to a recent Reuters report.
A ban on exporting military equipment was only lifted in 2014. Very few Japanese defense companies sell overseas.
((Tetsuo Kotani, Japan Institute of International Affairs (in English) ))
“For the Japanese defense companies, the self-defense forces are the only buyer. So, it's not so easy for those companies to make profits by making weapons. And because of that, several particularly smaller companies are now going away from those defense industries.”
((NARRATOR))
More than 100 Japanese companies have left the defense sector over the past 20 years.
((Tetsuo Kotani, Japan Institute for International Affairs (in English) ))
“Heavy reliance on foreign companies is not so good in terms of the supply chain resiliency, so the Japanese government decided to give a subsidy to those Japanese defense companies who are suffering. And by doing so we are trying to maintain our indigenous defense build-up capabilities.”
((OPT))
((NARRATOR))
Japan, Italy and Britain are jointly developing a new fighter jet program. Meanwhile, Tokyo recently issued guidelines to harmonize equipment with U.S. and European standards.
The U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japanese defense – and it’s vital that Japan buys the right equipment, says Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine Colonel and diplomat and former liaison to the Japan Self-Defense Force.
((Grant Newsham, Retired US Marine and Diplomat))
((cf. Zoom))
“What hardware do you need? What resources do you need? What capabilities do you need to defend your country? What do you need to fit in with the Americans to make this a real joint effort? So, I don't know that that thinking has been done.”
((END OPT))
((NARRATOR))
For decades most Japanese have opposed increased military spending. A recent poll shows slightly more than 40 percent of voters want to expand the self-defense forces, up from 29 percent five years ago.
Reuters reported that Japan’s industrial giants are likely wary of tarnishing their brand among consumers by expanding into military production.
((Henry Ridgwell, VOA News))
“Japan’s government is trying to adapt to a rapidly changing security environment. But it must also convince the Japanese people that these profound changes are urgent and necessary.”
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, Tokyo.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Tokyo
Embargo DateAugust 10, 2023 15:49 EDT
Byline
Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
